Please Save Me
by AlunaSama
Summary: THIS IS A COLLAB FIC! It's sort of a rewrite of YYH with two OCS, Tamaki is hers and Mayu is mine. Nothing much to say, I'll update this as I go. HieiXOC KuramaXOC YusukeXKeiko. Rachel Writes the Odd, and I write the Even. Her Quizilla: prettypriestess27
1. Chapter 1

Tamaki walked into the classroom silently. All eyes fell on her not that it wasn't obvious why. Not many people have snow white hair and pale skin like she did. She smiled shyly, wishing that they wouldn't pay much attention to her. Not like it bothered her, she just felt it was better that way. If they weren't involved with her, they cant be targeted thats what she wanted. Two lives were sacrificed already, she didn't want anymore. She quickly took her seat near the back, still wondering why Koenma forced her to attend this new school. She didn't find anything wrong about the school her parents had placed her in. A sharp sense of Demon energy suddenly emerged. A demon?! Here?! Impossible how did she miss this? A strong sense of energy like that she should have detected instantly. Tamaki turned her head slightly and saw him.

His long red hair draped over his shoulders as he was looking into his textbook, while his emerald green eyes seemed so gentle. Despite the enormous energy wave? ..No, it was an act she decided. She could never trust a demon never trust her own kind ever again. Not after what they've done to her, to her human parents, to her late brother.

The bell rang for the end of class, she must have zoned out the whole class. The red hair demon stood up to leave, gathering his books. He looked over to Tamaki he sensed her Demon energy the moment she walked in. But she really could have killed every human in the classroom by now if she really wanted to, so he assumed she meant no harm. Still he kept a close eye on her the whole class period she seemed to innocent to hold any wickedness. He headed for the door. Tamaki hurried to follow him, figuring out why Koenma put her here. He was using her to keep an eye on this demon that must have been it. The boy seemed to slow a bit, stepping beside her now.

"Please listen closely to me", he said to her, the way they were angled made it look like he was saying nothing. "Stay at the school yard when school lets out I have things I must tell you."

Tamaki, knowing what he meant, just nodded in response. He sped back up and went to his next class. Tamaki stared after him a bit before leaving herself. She knew what he wanted and she figured there wouldn't be any avoiding it no matter what. He knew she was a demon and he knew she found out he was one too. Now he wants to fight to keep her from stopping whatever she thought he was planning.

Little did she knew the boy actually was thinking the same thing. He had challenged her thinking she was planning something. Was she sent as one of Hiei's followers from his Jagan eye? Or was she just out for human blood? Either way he would stop her.

Tamaki sat on the bench next to the school building, waiting for every student there to leave for the day. She would have used this time to think of a plan to fight the demon if she knew anything about how he fought. But she knew nothing she was fighting blind. All she could do was hope she was stronger. Luckily that meant her opponent knew nothing of how she fought, it'd seemed that he wasn't the kind of guy to only rely on brute force. He then arrived as promised, Tamaki stood up instantly. He looked at her.

"Thank you for staying", he said, his voice not harsh in tone, but brimming with confidence. Tamaki was a bit taken back by that.

"Well it didn't seem I had much of a choice in it.", she said, trying to mimic the confidence in his voice.  
"He nodded, Yes, well even if you hadn't stayed, this would be unavoidable." he said.

"Agreed", Tamaki said. "No matter what the circumstances, I cannot allow you to do as you please. I shall stop you."

The boy seemed to be confused. Stop him? What did he do? But Tamaki had already rushed in to the attack before hand. She tried using her martial arts skills mainly, so he couldn't get a good grip at what her Demon energy was. She threw a punch, but the boy easily dodged and counter. He gripped her arm.  
"What are you planning?" he asked. " And are you working alone? Are there others assisting you?"

Tamaki blinked, "What?" she asked. "Thats what I should be asking you! You're up to something! Thats why Koenma sent me here when he found me!" The boy looked at her a minute then he laughed mainly in relief and his own stupidity. He let her arm go. Tamaki sweat dropped he lost his mind was her conclusion in this.

"What are you laughing for?" she asked, fairly confused at this point. Kurama just smiled at her.

"I am terribly sorry", he said. "But I do believe we've mistaken each other."

Tamaki blinked, "Mistake?" she asked. "She glared at him a bit, remembering he was a demon. If this is some kind of trick-"

"I swear to you its not", he said, his voice still friendly. "My name is Kurama, but my name in the Human World is Shuichi Minamino."

Tamaki stared at him a but something in her gut really wanted to trust him. He seemed so nice to be dishonest. Still she couldn't be sure this could be part of an act.

"How are you so trusting?" she asked him, confused on how quickly he believed she was not an enemy. Kurama smiled at her.

"You said Koenma sent you", he said. "Not many demons know of Koenma, only the few he trusts. You must be on the humans side."

"..But how can I be sure you are too?" Tamaki asked. "Please forgive me as I say this but I cant trust you."

Despite what she said, Kurama smiled at her. "I understand", he said. "The fact that you can't trust me just because I trust you proves you're not one to be taken likely, but if you'd come with me, Id' be more than happy to offer you proof of my innocence."

Tamaki lowered her eyes a bit, standing her ground, "You do realize if this is a trap, I wont hesitate to kill you", she bluffed. Truthfully she hadn't really killed anyone before. She had killed lower-class demon who desired nothing but human flesh, but it kind of felt like killing a bug or something. ..If this was a trap, was she prepared to bloody her hands with this boys blood?

Kurama smiled at her, "Understandable", he said, not reacting to her threat negatively. He predicted shed say something like that. He found her to be really intelligent to be so careful against a demon she had no proof of being friendly. "Please follow me, and I promise it will all make sense."

Tamaki was so lost, she couldn't read him at all! One second hes ready to fight, next hes treating her like a close friend. And the confusion kind of frustrated her but at the same time, want to know more about him. He was a mystery that was hard to solve, the kind that always made people keep reading until the end.

Before she had even realized they had already started walking, her feet automatically following Kurama. She blinked a bit, "So where are we going?" she asked innocently.

Kurama smiled, "It'll be confusing to explain it now. It'll make sense when we get there", he said. Tamaki nodded a bit, not pressing it further.

They walked in silence for a while, both lacking conversation topics to discuss. Kurama broke the silence, "Ah, here we are", he said.

Tamaki looked up and just felt more confused then ever. He took her to a local hospital. She looked at him, "Why are we here?" she asked, her natural cautiousness making her suspect a trick again.

Kurama smiled at her, "I need you to meet someone", he said, opening the door for her. Tamaki blinked a bit.

"Here?" she asked, confused on that. Kurama smiled and nodded. This went against all her better judgments, but she walked in. She didn't understand it completely but she trusted him. And just when she thought all her trust was gone, she thought with a silent smile. Kurama seemed to notice her sudden spurge of happiness and smiled a bit too.

Kurama opened a hospital room, motioning her to go in. Tamaki walked in, seeing a woman with black hair tied back lying in the bed. She seemed so pale and frail. Yet when Kurama walked in, her eyes lit up a bit and she struggled to sit up. Kurama ran over and set her back down.

"It's alright Mother, you don't need to sit up", Kurama said, his voice showing concern. Tamaki eyes widen. His mother? But she was human. How could a human give birth to a demon child? The woman smiled at him.

"Shuichi dear, its been so long since you've brought a friend with you", she said, her voice weak. She smiled at Tamaki. "Hello, I am Shiori Minamino, its nice to meet you."

Tamaki smiled happily at her she was such a nice lady, "Its very nice to meet you too. My name is Tamaki Tomashina." she said, bowing her head in respect as it was custom in Japan.

Shiori beamed, "Shuichi, where did you find such a sweet girl? she asked happily, really fond of her already." She looked up at him with a smile. "You told me you weren't interested in dating." Tamaki blushed a bit at that.

"Oh no Mother, shes just a friend from school", Kurama said, a bit embarrassed by that as well.

Shiori giggled a bit, "Oh okay, my mistake", she said, not buying it. She was ill but not blind, she thought with a giggle.

The doctors made Kurama and Tamaki leave a few minutes later to let Shiori rest. Kurama took her on the hospital roof top where he normally went to clear his head. Tamaki smiled at him.

'"Your mother is such a nice person, she said happily, glad to have met her."

Kurama smiled, "I thought you would like her. he said. She really grew fond of you."

Tamaki felt happy by that, "You really think so?" she asked.

Kurama nodded, "Yes", he said. "Though I'm not all that surprised by it. You really are a friendly person when you act like yourself."

Tamaki's face felt a bit hot, but tried to cover that up with a smile, "Thank you", she said. "You're really friendly too, now. I feel kind of silly thinking you were bad." she added with a giggle.

Kurama chuckled, "Ah, the feeling is mutual. Perhaps were just silly people?"

Tamaki giggled, "Seems like it", she said. "But theres one thing I don't get still. How can you be a demon if your mother is human? Are you a half-demon? And why does she call you Shuichi if your real name is Kurama?"

He smiled a bit, "Technically I am human but at the same time I'm not. My truest form is actually Yoko Kurama the spirit fox."

Tamaki's eyes widened," The Legendary Thieve King Yoko?!" she asked surprised. That had been her favorite bedtime story since she was little. ..But in the story, Yoko was killed by a strong pursuer.

"In truth I escaped from him just in time", Kurama explained. "But I was weak, and needed to hide out so my strength could return. So I hid within Shiori Minamino, my mother, and became the child of a proud human family known as Shuichi. I knew if I could withstand humanity for ten years, I could recover and escape without a trace."

Tamaki blinked, "..Why did you stay then?" she asked.

"..My mother became deathly ill. It may sound foolish but I couldn't leave her. Considering everything she had done for me." His eyes grew kind of sad as he said that.

Tamaki blinked, "Whats wrong?" she asked.

"..My mother is on the brink of death", he said sadly. "It bothers me not knowing how much longer shell be in this world."

Tamaki's eyes looked down a bit, feeling a bit guilty, "..I'm sorry", she said.

"Don't be, it isn't your fault.", Kurama said.

Tamaki shook her head, "No, not about that I meant for everything. The way I treated you earlier. I shouldn't had been so quick to judge. I'm sorry."

Kurama smiled a bit, putting a hand on her shoulder, "I jumped to the same conclusion as you did, there's no need to apologize."

Tamaki smiled a bit, "Thanks", she said. "But why did you tell me all this?"

Kurama chuckled a bit, "I'm not sure maybe I just wanted someone to know", he said. "Besides, I can honestly feel like I can trust you."

Tamaki smiled at that. They continued talking for what seemed to be a few minutes about the past, but when the looked it was already dark out.

Kurama blinked, "..Is it that late already?" he asked. "I guess I should walk you home now."  
Tamaki blinked, "It's alright, I can walk by myself", she said.

Kurama smiled, "I insist", he said, being a gentlemen.

Tamaki was a bit hesitate. She didn't want him to know she was living alone because he'd ask why. She didn't really want to be reminded again. But it'd also be bad if she said no for no good reason. "Okay, thank you.", she said with a smile.

They started walking from the hospital, but didn't get too far from it before something stood in their path. A demon, Tamaki could make out from the darkness. He was small, dressed in black with spiked black hair. He was carrying a katana with him, and from what his demon energy read he was about a high D-Class.

Kurama recognized him immediately, "Hiei!" he said. "What are you doing here?"

Tamaki blinked, "A friend of yours?" she asked.

"..Kind of.", Kurama said. "Were not enemies if thats what you mean."

Hiei stared at Tamaki a bit, hiding his disbelief so well no one could ever detect it. Why was she here? They told him she lived three towns over! He drew his katana and began attacking Tamaki, who kept dodging his swings.

Kurama's eyes widened a bit, "What are you doing?!" he asked in shock. Why was Hiei attacking her?

Hiei finally ceased his attacks and smirked a bit. Not a scratch on her, "..Impressive", he said to her. "You should be useful as well."

Tamaki blinked a bit, "What do you mean?" she asked, realizing he was testing her skills with his attacks.

Hiei looked to both Tamaki and Kurama, "Think of this as a proposal that shall benefit all of us. Gouki!" he called behind him. Another demon, who seemed to pose like some big street thug appeared out behind him. Tamaki sensed a different kind of demon energy he was an ogre demon.

"..What proposal?" Tamaki asked.

"Tell me Kurama, you do remember the power of the Demon Artifacts?" Hiei asked.

Kurama's eyes widen a bit, "What do you want with the Artifacts?" he asked. Tamaki blinked in confusion.

"Demon Artifacts?" she asked. She lived in the Human world most of her life, so she never heard of them.

Hiei looked over at her, "The three Demon Artifacts are the three most powerful artifacts in Spirit World. The Orb of Destruction, the Forlorn Hope and the Sword of Shadows. If anyone processed these items, they would be invincible."

Gouki smirked, "The Orb of Destruction should come in quite handy for me. Human souls are so hard to get but with that it takes all the guest work out of cooking them."

Tamaki's eyes widened. He ate the souls of humans?! Hiei smirked, "Yes, and the Swords of Shadows combined with the Jagan eye will prove most useful to me. And if what I heard was true Fox, the Forlorn Hope sounds like something you would desire."

Tamaki looked at Kurama, "The Forlorn Hope? What does this do?" she asked.

"During the full moon, it grants the users greatest desires", Kurama said. "But you must give something in return." He knew what that something was, but he didn't say.

Hiei stepped closer towards him, "We plan to steal these artifacts the four of us will reign supreme in both Worlds. We need all the help we can at this point especially with an expert thief like Kurama. And the girl can move swiftly without much sound, she seems qualified for this. Will you join us or not?"

Kurama paused, "I will join your alliance for now", he said. He had to do what he must to save his mothers life.

Hiei smirked, "Good", he said. He turned to Tamaki. "What about you?"

Kurama glared a bit, "She stays out of this", he said coldly. He didn't want her involved in this. It was so dangerous.

Tamaki looked at Kurama, "Its alright", she said. She looked at Hiei, "Count me in", she said.

Kurama looked at her, "Are you sure about this?" he asked her.

Tamaki nodded, "I am. I want to help you save Shiori.", she said.

Hiei smirked. His plan was already going great. "Then its set we head out tonight to Spirit World." Tamaki nodded in agreement she hadn't known then, and would probably never know if she made the right decision that night. All she knew was it was time for a trip.


	2. Chapter 2

Tamaki nervously followed them through the path to the Spirit World, sneaking as well as she could. This was stressful. She couldn't get away with just raw strength here, no, this was all about stealth and not doing a single unnecessary thing..not that she generally did in combat either..but this was still scary.

Kurama looked back at her, "Tamaki? Are you okay?" he asked, noticing her disease.

"Stealing isn't something I am accustomed too..." she said, with a sigh, admitting her defeat at being on the wrong side of the law. Kurama smiled.

"I am out of practice, as well as you can imagine..though 15 years isn't very long in demon time, I suppose." he said, looking forward to the prize.

"Quit making gooey eyes and keep quiet, we are nearing the part of the building where the safe lies." said Hiei, a bit frustrated in Kurama's need to keep Tamaki comfortable. Kurama sighed.

"We aren't making any of the sort, please be quiet yourself." he said, blushing slightly but hiding it with his bangs. Gouki laughed.

"Lets hurry, my stomach will growl and get us all caught if I don't eat soon!" he said, trying to get everyone lightened up.

"It'll be the last thing you ever do, if that is to happen!" said Hiei, being dead serious about the whole thing. Tamaki sweat dropped but prepared herself.

"There shouldn't be any battling..if all is well...we just need to sneak in..With Koenma in charge it won't be much." he said.

"Indeed, he is no where as competent as his father. But he's still a worth opponent here...almost." said Hiei, smirking some more..he was oozing in confidence, Tamaki noted, everyone here was so sure of themselves. She had to match that if she was going to get out of this safely.

"Yes.." she said, sounding a little force. Hiei knocked on the wall they finally approached after they reached the end of the seemingly rotting forest.

"This is it, if I cut right here, they will be on the other side." said Hiei, tracing a circle big enough for him to get in.

"Are you going to go in alone?!" asked Gouki, a bit confused why they were here.

"Yes, but I'll need your power to get the door open and in case there is a trap or guard on the inside..I refuse to believe it is THIS easy." said Hiei, preparing himself for anything. Kurama nodded.

"Unless there is some Soul Society Bingo game going on tonight, I highly doubt it as well." he concurred. Tamaki spoke up again.

"I sense about 5 level C demons inside..." she said, wanting it to be known.

"5 level C?" asked Hiei a bit shocked..they were out numbered, but they mustn't be allowed to touch the artifacts to it had to be possible.

"At least." said Tamaki, looking to the floor. Hiei almost cringed..but he recovered.

"No, we can handle this!" he said, going back to tracing a larger entrance, "On the count of three, focus all of your power on to this wall. We'll probably injure them in the break in, anyway!" he said.

Gouki nodded and charged up a punch, Kurama stood in a special stance and Tamaki prepared to throw herself at the door. Hiei counted.

"One...to...three!" he shouted, leading the barrage on the door. The circle he traced gave in perfectly, heavily injuring the small brigade guarding the other side. Hiei took his sword and began to slice at them with top speed. Gouki started pounding the crap out of two with their heads being smashed together repeatedly.

Tamaki was fighting expertly but two of them where slowly backing her up in the the corner..Kurama came up and killed one by breaking its neck, instantly.

"Are you okay?" he asked. Tamaki was shocked...he killed that Demon as though it were nothing! They didn't seem to be that intelligent with their strength..but...he still...

"I'm fine, thank you!" she said, trying to sound tough and knocking out the last one..they were all dead or passed out now.

"Okay, here we go!" said Hiei, distributing the artifacts, "Lets get out of here!"

Tamaki grabbed on to Kurama's sleeve and they began to run like crap. Kurama was getting them out of the forest, her going to be his back up if he was pursued over the crime before the next full moon. The knocked out guard woke up and ran to tell Koenma what he had saw...

They were going to have to fight to protect what they stole, but Kurama refused to give up on his mother. He would be making sure Tamaki didn't get in trouble for this though. She only helped him for his mother's sake, she wasn't a bad child.

It was..such a shame he would be leaving her.

"Kurama, are you okay?" she asked, trying to wake him up out of his thoughts for now. Kurama nodded a little bit.

"Yes, I zoned out, please pardon me." he said, filled with guilt from worrying her.

"It's okay, don't worry about it..you're just worried, right?" asked Tamaki with a smile.

"Yes, exactly, we'll get out of here soon." he explained, showing that they were at the entrance to the human world. Tamaki nodded and let herself be sucked into the other side.

Kurama landed them steadily, looking around, "Are we anywhere near your place of residence? It is still dark out, I want to take you home." he said, looking to her. Tamaki nodded.

"It's...right down this stretch." she said, pointing a bit off. A couple blocks down, but lead to by this road.

Kurama nodded and looked to the ground for a moment, walking forward with Tamaki following close behind. Tamaki sighed..she still didn't want him finding out about her living alone..she just didn't like to think about it.

"Are your parents going to be mad?" Kurama asked..the last thing Tamaki wanted to hear, of course.

"No, of course they won't, it'll be fine." she said, fidgeting a bit..she could bluff well, when she wasn't trusting him, but now that she did she felt bad for lying to him.

"If I were your parents, I would be furious..." said Kurama, picking up on her lie a little bit, "I mean, after all, coming home so late without calling..with a Boy..." he said, trying not to worry.

"...They won't see you, you have long hair." she said with a giggle, trying to offset the topic with a bit of humor, "They won't be able to tell. Plus they are probably already asleep." she said.

"Ah..." said Kurama with a sigh, "Well..I hope that I can meet them and be friendly with them, sometime, like you are with my mother." he lied. He looked down to the forlorn hope sadly...his mother would be safe now. She just had to last to the full moon...

"Do you think the wish will work?"asked Tamaki, putting a hand on his shoulder, looking into the mirror and catching her pale complexion quickly.

"It will if I offer it the sacrifice It wants..." said Kurama with a forced smile...no, it wasn't the forced. For his mother, he could give his life. He honestly. Could.

"Ah...Okay, I really hope you two will be happy together for a long time." she said, taking her hand off his shoulder.

"...I hope so too." said Kurama, finding it to painful to tell her he wouldn't make it past the spell..his mother would enjoy living without her son then dying with him, surely. He stopped in front of her house, smelling her scent all over the place.

"This is your home." said Kurama, looking it up and down. It was a pretty home, he liked it. It seemed to suit her well.

"It is, thank you." said Tamaki with a smile, "..See you at school, I suppose?" she asked. Kurama nodded.

"See you at school." he said, walking off in the other direction. They would become friends like this, that wasn't a good thing if he was going to die in a matter of a week. He would have to be a bit more estranged...he wondered if he could manage it after he entrusted her with so much already? He wasn't sure.

The next day, Yusuke looked at Botan over the knocked out boy with a blank look, "..Botan, what are you doing here?" he asked, his tone full of annoyance. He was ALIVE, right? They didn't need to do anything more for him so he could keep living, did he? Too many questions, not enough 'get the fuck out of my life'.

"Well, we need you're help Yusuke! It's very important!" she said cheerily, coming up to him and hugging him, "Oh, I knew it wasn't good bye!"

"Get off of me Botan! What the heck just happened!?" he asked, pushing Botan off.

"Oh, just a stray demon, nothing special." said Botan, picking it up and putting it in a jar, "That boy won't remember a thing, I promise. That's not what we need your help with."

"Why do you need my help in the first place? There is absolutely nothing you should need someone like me for." he said, waving off and turning around to walk away.

"There is too! Since you died and came back to life, you are the PERFECT candidate to be the new Spirit Detective...Not to mention the ONLY candidate.." said Botan, following him briefly on his oar.

Yusuke pretended not to listen for a minute..what was it in it for him? He wasn't going to do this with absolutely no reward. That'd be pure..stupidity. He'll leave the stupidity for his exams, pretty much.

"You'll get cool powers and fancy gadgets~!" chirped Botan, "You'd be able to kick the crap out of anyone, human or demon alike!" she said...stretching the truth slightly, but only to drag him in.

"...Human or Demon alike huh?" asked Yusuke, looking over his shoulder and smirking a bit, 'I do like the sound of that, especially if these kind of creeps try to come 'round my territory again." he said

"Yes! Now hurry on the oar, Koenma is waiting!" she said, stopping in front of him.

"...Nah." he said, turning in the other direction again. Botan got frustrated and grabbed him, dragging him on to the oar.

"You are coming wither you want to or not!" she said, powerfully. Yusuke, not wanting to fall to the end of his newly regain life, struggle on to the oar.

"H-Hey I was only joking! Don't do Dangerous stuff like that, Botan!" he yelled, getting angry with her.

"I can do what I want, I am the Grim Reaper!" she said with a giggle, steadying a bit to let him get comfortable before shooting off the the Spirit World. They flew over the River of Souls and into the rotting forest at top speed...Yusuke was fearing the loss of his lunch.

"Botan can you please slow down?!" he asked, hugging her around the waist with not romantic intentions, just trying to stay on the oar.

"No time, this is a class A Emergency!" she said, doing a few spins and turns just to piss the 'about to be' Spirit Detective off.

Yusuke growled and gripped the Oar instead of the Reaper, "YOU better calm down before I-"

The oar meant a harsh and abrupt stop, almost giving him whiplash, "We are here." said Botan innocently, getting off of the Oar and waiting for Yusuke to do so as well so she could carry it inside. Yusuke finally moved.

"There is a long ass hallway inside, why not just keep flying?" he suggested, a bit lazy from his already proving to me long day. Botan sighed.

"Would you like someone flying around in your home?" she asked, crossing her arms. Yusuke imitated the action.

"Yes!" he complained. Botan ignored him and knocked on the giant door, "It's Botan and Yusuke, please open the door!" she said, it swinging open as soon as the words fell off of her lips. She led them inside.

"Okay, now, please don't be rude like you were last time. He is under a whole lot of stress, at the moment..." Botan said, not watching as Yusuke took a detour to fiddle with one of the giant statues of armor littering the hallway. Botan grabbed Yusuke by the ear and dragged him the rest of the way.

"You are being an immature child today and I don't like it!" she said, letting him back on her feet when they reached the doorway. Koenma piped up.

"Oh, thank goodness you're here! Yusuke, I have a very important fav-"

"Yeah, yeah, you want me to become your Spirit Detective, right? Well, whats in it for me?" asked Yusuke, crossing his arms and seeing if Botan was lying to him. Koenma nodded.

"You will be trained in your special abilities that you have obtained through your death and coming back to life ordeal, and you will get a few gadgets as you master them to help you do your task." said Koenma dryly, "But I think whats MORE important is the job you have to do! We don't have any time to waste!"

"Okay, chill! Tell me what I have to do before I agree to it!" he said, wondering what was so important.

"The three Demon Artifacts have been stolen and you are the only one I can send to get them back!" said Koenma, standing up and walking around, as dumb as that looked in his baby-esque stature, "You must hurry. If they have these objects, they are next to invincible!"

"What are these Demon Artifacts?!" asked Yusuke, interested now.

Koenma used a small remote control to get them to pop on his giant screen, "The Forlorn Hope, the Sword of Shadows, and the Orb of Destruction." he said, flipping them one my one, "The Orb can suck human souls from their bodies. The Sword Multiplies the users power and makes it easier to use the Jagan's eye, if they posses it. And the Forlorn Hope and make one wish come true for the user, but it comes with a price. Only a limited few know what the price is..." said Koenma, explaining as quickly and throughout as he could.

"Okay, okay, so...who did it? Who am I gonna be looking for? They're a bunch of pansies, right?" he asked, crossing his arms.

"Idiot! Do you think a bunch of pansies could have broken in! They are all extremely difficult to battle, you better be prepared!" he yelled back, "We gotta hurry, you are the only one I could find thats qualified so you better no screw up!"

Yusuke was taking aback, "Quit yelling at me you Baby!" he yelled. Botan whacked him with her oar.

"Koenma, If I may...I have a friend we can use to help us out, since Yusuke probably can't help it." said Botan, bowing a bit.

"Hmm..fine! But he or she better not make it worse either." said Koenma, "If my Daddy finds out..its my bottoms last hour!" he whined, "Who knows what chaos could occur if he gets mad!"

Botan shivered a little bit, "..You..You are right...don't worry, leave it to us! Who are the suspects?" she asked.

"We've identified three of the four." said Koenma, looking down at some papers in his hands and flicking his remote again, "Yoko Kurama. Tomashina Tamaki. Gouki. The last one was unidentified but he was described as short, spiky hair, and the leader."

"Understood." said Yusuke, getting all of the papers from him..like he was gonna read them, "I'll get these losers one by one and get the artifacts back! When do I get my cool gadgets?" he asked.

"You will now." said Koenma, throwing him the demonic eyeglass, "You can see through stuff with this. But it takes spirit energy so use it as carefully as possible!" he said, "Now HURRY!" he said, snapping his fingers and sending them back instantly, not needing to waste any time.

Botan shivered a bit, "Oh, I hate it when he does that." she said, crossing her arms, "But! We really must make haste!" she said, running up a hill that they had landed near.

"Where are we going NOW!?" yelled Yusuke, following her unwillingly.

"To meet my friend! She is a fire apparition, she'll help us out." said Botan, running higher and higher. Yusuke was a bit confused.

"So, what is up here? I thought all apparitions where in the demon world!" he asked.

"There is a small Dojo of them up here!" said Botan with a giggle, "They have permission, since they help train some pyrokenetic humans as well. You can only find the place if you have pyrokeneticy or apparent spirit energy, though."

"You mean that is seriously for real?!" asked Yusuke, a little bit shocked at that. He always thought the only people who believed in pyrokenetics where freaks.

"It's seriously for real!" she said, stopping and looking around. It looked like a Dojo on TV, almost. Kids running around and beating each other with sticks..though occasionally some sparks would come out...and some old men having tea at the porch. They were soon greeted by a woman with long red hair, purple eyes, and appeared to be wearing some sort of elaborate school uniform.

"Hello, welcome to the Dojo." she said, politely bowing before looking up at Botan, "..Botan? What are you doing here? And who is this?" she asked quickly, her tone turning from polite to a bit harsh quickly.

"This is Yusuke, he is the new spirit detective. I was hoping if I could get a favor out of you." asked Botan, glad they didn't have to go searching the place for her. Her eye's lowered a little as she scrutinized Yusuke.

"He's a bit short, isn't he?" she asked, bluntly. Yusuke growled a bit, "You think I'm short?! I am still taller then you, you old hag!" he said, assuming her to be in her early twenties but not caring.

"...My name is Mayu Okinawa." she said, looking over to Botan, "I'll do this for you, but not for him, he's too loud." she said. Botan laughed nervously.

"Okay, I just need you to hang around us and be willing to jump into a battle if things get too hard on Yusuke, its nothing major." said Botan, patting Mayu on the back. She blinked.

"Okay.." she said, finding it to be an odd request.

"You are asking a girl to help us out?" asked Yusuke, a bit annoyed already. Mayu's eyes lowered and took out a stick from a holster on her leg, spinning it and having Yusuke pinned to the ground quickly.

"Be on your guard at all times, that's Lesson number one!" she said, coolly but obviously angry. Yusuke growled and shoved her foot off of him.

"Don't do that!" he yelled at her, standing up, "Geez, make me look like I can't fight like that..." he said, angrily, "I can do a lot better then that, you caught me off guard!"

"Isn't that what I said?" asked Mayu, seemingly pleased. Yusuke just got hotter.

"Lets get to looking for these Bozos now, okay?!" he asked, storming off down the hill again. Botan sighed, "WAIT UP YUSUKE! There is still some preparing we need to do!" she said, getting on her oar and sailing after him. Mayu blinked and holstered her stick..this wasn't going to but a whole lot of fun.


	3. Chapter 3

Tamaki was at her locker, putting away her books she didn't need for the end of the day. She wondered if Kurama would wait for her to walk home together. He'll probably head over to the hospital again to see his mother. She'd like to see Shiori again, she was such a nice lady. She shut her locker door shut and turned around, only to find a group of girls around her. They all seemed pretty worked up over something. Tamaki sweat dropped.

"Can I help you?", she asked.

One of the girls stepped forward, "I don't know who you think you are Tomashina! But we all saw Shuichi first, so you better back off!"

Tamaki just became more confused, "What are you talking about?", she asked innocently.

The supposed ring-leader just glared, "Don't play dumb with me!" she said. "I saw you hanging around Shuichi-sama yesterday! I mean it, stay away from him!"

"..-Sama?" Tamaki said, really confused now. Then she put it together. Apparently Kurama had a fan club. She just started laughing, this was too funny!

The girl just seemed to get more angry, "Whats so funny?!" she demanded.

Tamaki smiled a bit, "I apologize, as amusing as this was I really must be going.", she said, walking away.

"And just where are you going?!" the girl asked, obviously furious at her.

Tamaki smiled perfectly innocent, "I'm meeting up with Shuichi.", she said, trotting along before the girl, who could have exploded with anger, could respond. Truthfully she didn't know if Kurama was waiting for her or not, but all in all it made that fan girl shut up.

And to her surprise Kurama was waiting right there for her. He smiled, "Hello.", he said.

Tamaki smiled back at him, "Hi.", she said happily. "You didn't have to wait for me.", she said.

Kurama smiled, "I know, but I wanted to.", he said. "You did take a little while though, was your locker stuck?" he asked, wondering what had kept her.

Tamaki smiled, "Oh no, some of the girls just wanted to say 'Welcome to the school' kind of.", she said.

Kurama sweat dropped, "..Ambush?" he asked.

"Yep.", Tamaki answered with a giggle. Kurama sighed a bit.

"I apologize.", he said. "Maybe I should have came in and looked for you?"

Tamaki smiled, "Thanks, but there was no need. They didn't bother me so much. They were just loud."

Kurama chuckled a bit, "Really? No pitchforks and torches? I guess they like you better than the last new girl.", he said, joking around.

Tamaki laughed, "Hey, are you trying to scare me?" she asked, joking with him.

Kurama laughed a bit, "No no, just teasing you.", he said. He really felt better when he was talking to her. He hoped once he was gone, Tamaki would smile when she thought back to this memory.

What would Tamaki think of him when he was gone? Would she be mad at him for dying? Would she hate him? Would she be sad when he was gone? He didn't want that. He wanted her to keep smiling, to keep laughing like she was now. ..But at the same time, he wanted her to remember him. At least a little bit..

Tamaki blinked, "Earth to Kurama, come in!" she said, snapping her fingers.

Kurama blinked, "Oh, sorry. I think I spaced out again." he said.

Tamaki smiled at him, "Its alright.", she said. "..Are you still worried?" she asked, knowing he still had to hope his mother would live through the full moon.

Kurama nodded a bit, "A little.." he said, being honest.

Tamaki smiled and put a hand on his shoulder, "Don't worry, she said. Shell be alright. She has a very strong will to live, shell make it through."

Kurama smiled a bit, "..Thank you Tamaki.", he said. "For everything."

Tamaki blinked a bit, "..I really don't think I did that much.", she said, wondering what he was thanking her for.

Kurama smiled and shook his head, "You've done so much.", he said. "You risked your life helping me get the Forlorn Hope for my mother. And we had just only met. If you don't mind me asking, why were you so willing to join alliances with Hiei, Gouki and I?"

Tamaki smiled a bit, "Shiori deserves to be happy is what I figured.", she said. "..You both do. You both deserve to be happy together."

Kurama smiled at her. He couldn't help but wonder if there was a kinder soul out there. Probably not. "Thank you.", he said. He felt a bit guilty. She did this for his mother AND him. So he could be happy with Shiori. How could he tell her now...?

"I sense demon energy.", Tamaki said, breaking his train of thought. "It's familiar, so it must be.."

Hiei and Gouki appeared in front of them, Hiei holding the Sword of Shadows and Gouki with the Orb of Destruction. Kurama lowered his eyes a bit.

"What is it Hiei?" he asked, wondering what he wanted from him now.

Hiei smirked, "What do you think?" he asked. "It's time for Phase two of the plan."

Tamaki blinked, "Phase two?" she asked. "What is that?"

Hiei smirked again and held up the sword, "Simple, we use these weapons to their full potential.", he said.

Gouki laughed and nodded, "Think of it, the power we'll have!" he said. "With Hiei's sword, we could carve out a thousand humans and make them into a demon army! The Orb of Destruction would be an easy way to feed them if we can teach them to eat human souls! And of course the unlimited power of the Forlorn Hope could provide us."

Kurama paused, "..Sorry, I must withdrawal from this alliance.", he said.

Hiei and Gouki's eyes widened, "WHAT?!" they both yelled.

Hiei was mad, "What is that supposed to mean?!" he yelled. "Surely you're not dropping out of the game, when we've come this far!"

Tamaki lowered her eyes, "I refuse to be part of this pointless human slaughter.", she said.

Gouki scoffed, "I don't give a flip if they leave, but they don't have any right to the loot.", he said. He looked at Kurama, "Now give us the pretty mirror."

Kurama looked at him emotionless, "I can't", he said. "I have great use of it myself first."

Gouki glared at him, "Fine, then Ill punch it out of you!" he said, raising his fist about to hit him. Tamaki jumped up and punched him in the face first, then kicked him in the stomach until he went flying back into a tree.

Hiei glared at her, "You traitors!" he said. Gouki stood back up again. "That's it little girl! You're dead!" he yelled.

Hiei suddenly had an idea. One that would get him what he wanted and not get Tamaki killed. "Hold on Gouki.", he said. "Maybe now you should test what we wanted to know."

Gouki blinked, then smirked, "Good idea.", he said. He took out the Orb from his giant pocket. He then pointed it at Tamaki, it glowed an eerie green glow. Tamaki's eyes went blank and her soul was captured in the Orb.

Kurama ran and caught her as her body fell limp as it fell, "Tamaki!" he cried.

Hiei smirked, "Heh, so it does work.", he said. "So its not just human souls the Orb can steal. What a useful trick we've learned. I must thank Tamaki for being are little test subject."

Kurama glared at him hard, "Hiei! Release her right now!" He was so close from drawing his Rose Whip, but he knew one wrong move would prove fatal for Tamaki. If her soul was destroyed, she'd be in a place worse than Hell itself. He couldn't let that happen.

Gouki laughed, "If I were you, I wouldn't be giving orders to us.", he said. "Unless of course you don't care about your little girlfriends soul. Bet it'd make a tasty snack."

"Don't you dare! Kurama yelled. He wasn't one for losing his cool, but at this point he'd do anything to get that Orb away from them.

Hiei smirked. He hit a sensitive spot, he knew it would work, "Calm down Kurama.", he said. "As long as you swear you will see the plan through to the end, well give you back her soul."

Kurama lowered his eyes. He didn't have a choice. "Very we'll, I will not dessert the plan.", he said.

Hiei smirked again, "Good.", he said. "Then lets go." Hiei and Gouki began walking off. Kurama carried Tamaki's body bridal style and trailed behind them. He could feel defeat linger around him. But he followed obediently. It wasn't worth losing Tamaki's soul.

Gouki smirked over at Hiei, "I am kind of curious how her soul tastes.", he said. "Can I have it when we get the Forlorn Hope?"

Hiei glared at him, "Don't even think about it Gouki!" he said. "We give her soul back when were sure we have what we want. The girl still has her uses."

Gouki sighed a bit in disappointed, "Yeah yeah.", he said. "I'll stick with the human souls."

"Snobby rich kids all shopping!" Yusuke complained, walking down the street of downtown. "How the hell are we suppose to find anything in this crowd?!" he asked.

Mayu sighed a bit, "Just keep looking.", she said. "Koenma said they should be here." Botan had went back to gather more information she could on the four thieves, leaving them to find out what they can in the living world.

Yusuke scoffed, "Yeah, some help he was!" he said. "I think they're somewhere uptown." he said in a mocking voice mimicking Koenma.

Mayu sighed a bit, "Honestly, cant you go two seconds with out complain-" she was cut short by the sudden energy felt.

Yusuke shot up, "Hello! That felt a little awkward.", he said.

Mayu nodded a bit, So you felt it too. she said. But does this mean one of them is close by?

Yusuke shrugged a bit, "I'm not sure.", he said. "But either way, lets go check it out." Mayu nodded and they followed the trail of the energy. A crowd formed and they heard voices.

"Someone call 911!" one voice said. "It's a little boy! He collapsed!"

"That's the fourth little kid today!" another said. "This is horrible!"

"You think it's some kind of illness?" another voice asked. Mayu and Yusuke went and checked it out. They saw the little kids soul leave his body.

Yusuke blinked, "Guess this is what you call a lead.", he said. It started floating away.

"Hurry, follow it!" Mayu cried, running after it. Yusuke nodded and followed right behind her. It led them to a bad part of the town, where all the creeps hung out at.

Yusuke looked around, "..Dammit, where'd it go?" he asked. Mayu shook her head, "Don't worry, look. We've got our demon.", she said. She pointed to Gouki, who was sitting calmly against the wall.

Yusuke smiled, "Alright, lets get him before he gets away.", he said, moving in. But then some guy put a hand on Yusuke's shoulder.

"Hey kid, you got some cash for me?" he said, his goons backing him up.

Yusuke rolled his eyes, "Sorry minor leagues, I don't have time for you.", he said.

The guy laughs, "Well aren't you cocky.", he said. He then looked over at Mayu, "Well, maybe you're pretty friend here can pay you off."

Yusuke glared, "Don't even think-" he said before Mayu cut him off.

"Don't worry Yusuke.", she said. "I got this." She then begins kicking the crap out of all the dumb goons until they all ran off.

Yusuke sweat dropped, "I take back the old hag comment earlier.", he said, pretty amazed at her fighting skills.

Mayu smirked, "Thanks.", she said. She looked over to were Gouki was. "But now we lost our demon..."

"His tracks are still fresh.", Yusuke said. "Lets hurry and follow them." Mayu nodded and they started running to where the tracks led. It started raining pretty hard, but the trees from the field covered them pretty well.

"Damn, this stupid rain is gonna wash away his tracks.", Yusuke said, still running. Mayu kept running until she noticed something strange. There wasn't any rain falling in one part of the field.

"I think I found them.", she said, pointing it out. Yusuke smiled and nodded.

"Nice eye.", he said. "You ready?"

"As ever.", Mayu said, getting in her fighting stance. "Lets go. "


	4. Chapter 4

Kurama held Tamaki's body in his lap as they sat in the clearing with Gouki, "I heard a rustle." he admitted, patting her hair softly out of an incredible urge to do something with his hands. She had pretty soft hair.

Hiei concurred, "Yeah, I think I heard it too." he said, playing with the sword for a bit, posing and swinging it all about.

"I'll take care of it." said Gouki, standing up, "I should be more then enough, it might get me a couple more snacks as well." he added. Kurama shook his head.

"Let us all wait and see for a while, I want to discuss some things with you.." he said.

"Keep in mind you aren't in much of a position to make 'suggestions' Kurama." said Hiei, using his sword as a teacher like pointer to the Orb of Destruction Gouki was idly tossing with his hands, no threat of dropping and breaking it apparent.

Kurama paused out of cautious worry before standing up. "Yes, I'll just go ahead and walk away now instead then, we'll meet back here later to discuss further plans?" he asked, wondering what to do with her...her parents, foster or otherwise, surely will be frustrated to learn their daughter was comatose. Should he just keep her for now?

"Okay, but don't you dare think about escaping." said Hiei, "There is no way for you too without her soul." he said. Kurama looked down, a bit defeated. Tamaki looked..blank. Beings aren't bodies with souls, they are souls with bodies. While a Dead man looks peaceful..one that had his soul taken away so forcefully..they look almost in pain in expression.

He hated this expression on her, but not as much as he hated Gouki and Hiei at the moment for putting it on her. He had to get the soul back..he couldn't wait and have his wish wasted...suddenly, with now warning, he used his rose whip to knock the orb out of Gouki's catching range, and on to the ground. A few souls popped out and started running for their masters..luckily, one being Akina's.

Kurama did have a luck streak after all. Hiei was livid and pulled out his sword.

"That was a big mistake, Kurama!" he growled, running at him. Kurama ran for it for a while before using his powers to simply dissipate without warning, Hiei dissipating and following his trail quickly. Gouki blinked.

"Hey guys, don't leave me here.." he said, unable to catch up and follow them as well. The 'rustle' came back and Gouki felt a fair amount of energy behind it, grabbing the orb off the ground and facing it, "Who's there!" he shouted.

Yusuke popped through the the bushes, smirking at him, "I am Yusuke, the spirit detective!" he introduced himself, seeing the orb as one of the missing artifacts immediately. He slicked his hair back, confidently. Mayu was waiting in the bushes in case of anything. Botan asked her to help if necessary, and she wanted to see Yusuke do it on his own.

Gouki seemed as confident as Yusuke, if not more. Almost relieved, "Ah, another human, I prefer children's souls but I just lost a few." he said, rubbing his tummy. Yusuke got a disgusted look on his face..damn this thing was ugly.

"Okay, listen here buddy, you are going to hand over that orb and I am going to let you be taken in alive. Sound fair?" he cat called, trying to get him intimidated. Gouki laughed.

"You couldn't put a scratch on me!" he said, taking a soul out of the orb and helping himself. A little snack before a battle would make him more powerful...Yusuke looked on with disgust.

"Don't you dare eat that! That's some kid soul!" he yelled out, running up to him and punching him in the stomach. No effect...he saw a glow start to emit from it, while Gouki laughed.

"Sorry, kid, but there is nothing you can do!" he said, picking Yusuke up and throwing him into a tree. Yusuke rebounded a bit and landed into the ground, losing his breath but wiping his lower lip and continuing.

"There isn't no one I can't beat, and you won't be the first!" he shouted, standing back up and coming back at him, no effect again. Gouki flipped him and started beating him in the stomach.

"You little punk, you don't even know how to use your spirit energy!" he snarled, continuing to beat his stomach in. Mayu watched in sheer awe...Botan hadn't shown him his spirit energy yet? What did she expect her to do? EVERYTHING? She stood up and sent a fire ball flying past his head for a quick distraction, but ducked down. Yusuke took the chance to stand up and grab his head in a wrestling position, trying to make him submit.

"You are coming..with me..whither you like it or not!" Yusuke screamed, punching him in the head again and again, getting payback for the abuse dealt to his stomach. Gouki was getting agitated, but no real damage was being sustained. Botan finally got the word that the plan was failing and flew in, throwing her voice.

"I think I saw something this way..." "..Really?" "Yes, it was floating, we must hurry!" she called out, making it sound like they were surrounded. Gouki chickened out and threw Yusuke away from him again, running into the forest. Botan went to Yusuke.

"Yusuke, are you all right?" she asked, looking over to Mayu.

"...Botan, I love you, and you know that...but why didn't you teach him how to use his spirit energy before sending him into the city to look for them?" she asked, trying to show her mistakes before she herself was scolded for not jumping in.

"..I thought you were going too..." Said Botan, face palming carefully, "Oh my..this really is all my fault, I should have pressed more training on you first Yusuke." she said, scooping him up and and balancing him on his oar.

"..I probably wouldn't have taken it, anyway, but SERIOUSLY I COULD HAVE GONE WITH SOME KICK ASS POWERS!" yelled Yusuke, apparently healthy enough to get pissed off.

Botan rolled her eyes, "Look, we have a week, lets get home and get you cleaned up and a crash course so we can get these in time." she said, beginning to take off.

Mayu looked up, "Call me when my assistance is necessary, I have to get home for a check in." she said, waving off Botan and Yusuke quickly. Botan flied Yusuke home fast. Meanwhile, Kurama was still evading Hiei's wrath for as long as possible. Tamaki's soul found its way, yes. But she was still passed out for some reason.

"I don't want to see another loved one in the hospital.." he said to himself, surprised he came out. It was a simple yearning thought but it poured past his lips. His eye's lowered in pain. Why? Was this more atonement for his years of thieving? He didn't see himself as full of angst, but he was certainly stressed at the moment.

He carried her to the hospital to talk to Shiori. He would lie and say she collapsed of Heat Exhaustion. Nothing serious. And lay her on the couch as he spoke with his mother.

Shiori looked at him with a gentle weak expression as he did just this, "Shuichi.."

"Mother, are you feeling any better?" he asked, patting Tamaki on the head one more time before going over to her and holding her hand.

"Yes, I am feeling a lot better now that you are here." she said, smiling, "..I am glad you are carrying on so well..." she said, cryptically.

"Carrying one? Are you assuming Tamaki and I-"

"I'm...sick...not blind." she said, saying that sentence she pondered since they first arrived together the other day, "..But, please, don't mind anything I say. I just want you to be happy, okay?" she asked.

"I will be, mother, when you are better. Please do not give up on recovering just yet, if you can last the week...I have a great feeling." Kurama confessed, giving his mother as much reason to fight as she could. It didn't seem to have much effect.

"I see..I'll do my best for you, Shuichi." she said, half heartedly. She knew her time was coming soon. There was that unmistakable feeling of hearing the seconds tick by, ever so slightly, and it was getting louder each day. The doctors said she might be hearing her heartbeat, but she knew that was a lie. Some things can't be explained so easily.

Kurama heard the halfheartedness and was in despair, but turned over to Tamaki on the couch and went to her side, shaking her a bit..she finally came to.

"...Kura..." she started in a half dream like state before noticing Shiori and jumping straight up, "Shuichi!" she changed her name, before getting dizzy and leaning back down.

"Don't over exert yourself, heat exhaustion isn't serious but you still must be careful." said Kurama, keeping up with his lie quite quickly. Tamaki picked up the game.

"Ah..sorry for being careless, did you carry me all the way here?" she asked, a bit worried that had happened. Kurama shook his head, "No...I flew part of it." he said, picking on her.

"...That's not funny, you could have..erm..gotten heat exhaustion as well." Tamaki said, blushing at her mistake, but unable to keep from smiling. He was really nice to have done that.

Kurama smiled and patted her on the head again, a new found habit, "Lay down and get some rest, okay? You two, mother." he called over his shoulder, standing up to a straight back position. Shiori smiled.

"It's rude to force you to be in a room with two people who are asleep." she said, refusing to go to sleep just yet. Kurama shook his head.

"I just what wants best for you too, Conversation can occur anytime. Your recovery can only occur now." said Kurama, sitting down in the seat next to Shiori's bed.

"But I am really fine, Shuichi-kun.." said Tamaki, sitting up and crossing her legs, "I don't want to go to sleep...I've slept enough today." she said with a smile. Kurama chuckled a bit.

"What am I going to do about you two? Honestly?" he asked, wondering how he grew up..or came to know, technically, around such stubborn women.

Shiori just smiled, "I love you, Shuichi.." she said fondly, "...Maybe you should go ahead and take Tamaki home, okay?" she asked. Kurama nodded.

"I think I will do that.." He said, sadly..he didn't want to leave his mother yet, but Tamaki needed to get home so she could be warned to stay away from Hiei. Even though she probably already figured out on her own that he couldn't be trusted anymore, if any in the first place.

Tamaki slowly stood up, she was a bit wobbly but she was sure she could make it, "Okay..lets go." she said with a smile. Kurama nodded and headed for the door.

"I love you too, Mother." Kurama finally replied, opening it up. Tamaki got in the door way, turned around and bowed respectfully.

"Have a safe trip, okay?" she called out as the finally left the room, leaving her in a peaceful Zen and silence. Kurama turned to Tamaki.

"I am taking you to my home, not your own." he admitted, not wanting to be this forceful but it being the only thing that made sense, "I can't take any risks for Hiei using you as a bargaining chip." Tamaki winced..the lie was she HAD parents, wasn't it?

"Should..I call my family when I get to your house and try to make up something?" she asked, needing to make sure he wasn't going to try to reach a family that wasn't there.

"I'll say something, if your excuse requires it." said Kurama.

"I already have something in mind, don't worry about it." said Tamaki, looking to the ground..she had something in mind, if she had someone to say it too, anyway. She hated lying..half lying was a little better. Kurama smiled.

"Okay, the house isn't far, if you are sick of walking let me know." he said. Tamaki smiled.

"It's not a problem, really." she said, glad for everything he had been able to do for her.


	5. Chapter 5

Tamaki quickly dialed her house number from the pay phone at the hospital. Kurama was right beside her, keeping close in case Hiei found them. Tamaki knew Kurama's hearing was pretty good, so he'd probably hear what could be said through the phone. But luckily, Tamaki had planned that someone might want to call to speak with her parents.

Thats why she never erased their message from the answering machine. She could easily say they weren't home. Another lie, yes, but it wasn't a COMPLETE lie.

They weren't home, and they would never be home

"Hello, you've reached the Tomashina residence.", Tamaki's mothers voice had said.

"We can't come to the phone right now, so please leave a message and well get back to you as soon as we can.", Tamaki's fathers voice had said. After the beep, Tamaki spoke up.

"Mom, Dad, its Tamaki.", she said. "I'm staying over a friends house for a little bit, his mother fell ill and I'm helping him out a bit. Ill be back later, bye." Tamaki hung up the phone.

Kurama looked over to her, "No answer?" he asked, like he couldn't hear it.

Tamaki nodded, "I got their answering machine.", she said. "They're probably out, Ill call them again later."

Kurama nodded a bit, "Okay.", he said. "Lets go then." Tamaki smiled a bit and nodded, following him.

Something in Kurama's gut didn't buy into Tamaki's parents not being home. She was pretty much missing for most of the day. Naturally her parents would probably be worried about her, why would they go out? Then again they could be out looking for her, but this town was rather large town. What good would wandering around town hoping to find her do? Another thing also nagged at him since last night when he walked her home. He smelt Tamaki's scent all over that house but no one else's.

Something was up. Something Tamaki didn't want Kurama to know. About her? About her parents? He couldn't be sure, but why was she keeping it from him?

Tamaki looked at him, "Kurama? Are you okay?" she asked, wondering why he was so quiet all of a sudden.

Kurama smiled and nodded, "I'm fine", he said. "..I should be asking you that. Do you feel alright?" he asked, knowing body-soul separation was no light matter.

Tamaki smiled and nodded, "I feel fine, no need to worry.", she said. She was a bit tired, but felt like nothing had changed since before Gouki attacked her.

Kurama seemed relieved to this, "Thats good.", he said. "You really had me scared."

Tamaki blinked a bit, "..I did?" she asked, a bit confused.

Kurama nodded a bit in response. "Yes. For a second, I really thought I almost lost you." he said. He probably would have never forgiven himself if Gouki had eaten her soul.

Tamaki's face felt a bit hot. Why was she getting embarrassed over that comment? She felt strange, but in a good way. "I'm sorry. I'll try to be more careful." she said.

Kurama smiled a bit, "Don't worry about it, it wasn't your fault.", he said. "But either way, Hiei will want to come after you. And this time he may do worse than take you hostage. Which is why I want you to keep close."

Tamaki nodded a bit. "That is true.", she said. "We must be very careful now. Hiei has a  
pretty big sadistic streak, which means if he finds out about Shiori he might attack her we cant let that happen."

Kurama nodded, "Yes.", he said. "..He might also go after your parents as well." he added, wondering why she didn't mention that.

Tamaki blinked, "Oh right, which means we need to be all the more careful.", she said, covering her mistake. But honestly, shed like to see Hiei try to go after them. They'd have about a century's wait on their hands.

..Kurama, being as noticeable to details as ever, immediately caught that. "You seem fairly confident your parents will be safe.", he said. Tamaki didn't seem to be worried about them one bit, and that wasn't like her to not care about people.

Tamaki smiled a bit, "..I am. My parents are capable of defending themselves.", she said. "They had actually worked for Spirit World under its Special Attack Squad before they retired from it. They're use to fighting demons like Hiei and Gouki." she added, happy she didn't have to lie about that. They were very expert fighters. Thats how she learned to fight.

Kurama blinked a bit, "Really? Thats very impressive.", he said with a smile. "So then they knew..?" he asked.

Tamaki nodded, "Yes, they knew I was a demon.", she said. "They found me as an infant on one of their missions and raised me as their own ever since." She smiled a bit more at the memory. Being so tiny and being carried by her mother for the first time.  
Kurama smiled at her. She seemed so fond of them. "They sound like very nice people, he said. I truly hope to meet them soon."

Tamaki looked down. She didn't know how much longer she could keep lying to him like this. Not just because he was smart enough to figure it out on his own, which was also a problem, but because she didn't feel right lying to him. Maybe it wouldn't be as bad if it was anyone besides Kurama.

..That realization made Tamaki feel weird. Anyone besides Kurama? What was that about? She shook it off and kept walking before her thoughts could make her feel weird again.

Kurama blinked a bit, "Something troubling you?" he asked, seeing her indifferent expression.

Tamaki turned a bit red, "Oh no, just thinking.", she said, a bit embarrassed about it, and pretty much praying he wasn't a telepathic demon.

Kurama chuckled a bit, she seemed to be acting like herself again. "Okay.", he said. The house came up in the distance. "Ah, were almost there."

Tamaki smiled, spotting the house, "Its nice.", she said, finding it big compared to her little house. Though she didn't mind her house small. She didn't truly need so much space.

Kurama smiled, "Thank you.", he said, opening the door and holding it for her. Tamaki smiled and walked into the house. It was nice and neat looking. If had a good feeling to it, and it felt like home.

And the one thing that stood out most to her was a Acoustic Guitar in a stand in the living room. Tamaki blinked, "You play guitar?" she asked.

Kurama chuckled a bit, "Not a note I'm afraid.", he said. "That's Kokoda's guitar. I keep telling him to put it in his room."

Tamaki blinked a bit, "Who's Kokoda?" she asked.

Kurama smiled a bit, "Oh yes, I never mentioned it yet. Hes my soon-to-be stepbrother." he said. "My mother was engaged to be married before she fell ill."

Tamaki smiled happily. "Oh that's great!" she said happily "I have to tell her congratulations when I next see her. When is the wedding?"

Kurama smiled a bit, "They were supposed to be married last fall, but it was pushed back when Mother was sent to the hospital. Most likely shell probably wait a little while after she gets out."

Tamaki smiled, "That sounds nice.", she said happily. "I better be invited!" she said teasingly a bit.

Kurama chuckled and nodded, "Of course you are.", he said. He looked over to the guitar. "I wonder if Kokoda is home yet? School should have let out for him."

A boy, about the age of a middle school kid, came walking down the stairs hearing his name being said, "Someone call me?" he asked.

Kurama smiled, "Ah, there you are.", he said. He turned to Tamaki, "Thats Kokoda. Kokoda, this is Tamaki."

Tamaki smiled over at "Kokoda, Nice to meet you.", she said.

Kokoda smiled and nodded, "A pleasure.", he said. He grinned over at Kurama, "Bringing your girlfriend over when no ones home Shuichi, that isn't like you!"

Kurama's face turned a bit red, "It isn't like that.", he said. "Tamaki's just a friend of mine. Her house is being fumigated, so she will be staying with us for a bit." he added, making up a believable enough excuse.

Kokoda smiled a bit, "Okay.", he said. He didn't entirely believe his story. He believed Tamaki's house being fumigated, but he knew he had sneaked out of the house sometimes at night. He just assumed he had sneaked out to see some estranged girlfriend or something. Anyone, who at least had no knowledge of Demons, would assume that.

And Kurama knew he assumed that. Which was better than him knowing his future brother was a demon. Tamaki smiled up at Kokoda.

"I like your guitar.", she said, looking at the stand. "So you can play?" she asked.

Kokoda smiled a bit, "Only a little.", he said, rubbing the back of his head. "Do you play?" he asked.

Tamaki nodded, "I have one like it at home.", she said, being a big music fan ever since she was little.

Kurama smiled a bit, "I didn't know that.", he said. "Kokoda, would you mind if she saw it?" he asked, wanting to hear her play.

Kokoda smiled and nodded, "Sure.", he said heading over and picking up the guitar. He handed it to Tamaki, who adjusted the strap on it so it would slide over her well.

She pulled one of the strings. "This thing is really out of tune.", she said, adjusting the strings on the guitar. She started playing some basic notes to check to see if it was all in tune. Once it was, she started playing Deep Forest, one of her favorite songs to play.

Kurama and Kokoda watched her play. To there untrained ears she was amazing. Kurama recognized the piece when she had started playing, she was executing it flawlessly. Tamaki started singing the words to it while she was playing. Kurama smiled a bit. She was a good singer as well.

When the song ended, Kokoda started clapping a bit, "That was awesome!" he said. "How long have you been playing?"

Tamaki smiled, "Thank you.", she said. "1've been playing for a few years now by ear."

Kurama smiled, "It shows, you must really practice hard.", he said, pretty impressed.

Tamaki smiled and nodded. "Yes, I practice a lot because I love playing.", she said, putting the guitar back on the stand. She looked out the window. It had gotten pretty late now. "Do you mind if I use your shower?: Tamaki asked, use to taking a shower at night so she had more time in the morning to get ready.

Kurama smiled at her a bit. "Not at all.", he said. "It's upstairs, the second door on the left." he added, pointing to the staircase.

Tamaki smiled and nodded. "Thank you.", she said, heading up the stairs to the bathroom.

Kokoda sighed a bit, "I better go finish my homework.", he said, heading for the stairs. Kurama nodded at him, then went off into the kitchen to make dinner for the three of them to eat. It had been a while since he had made dinner for three people again. Not since his mother went to the hospital. Suddenly he heard a shriek come from upstairs.

"PEEPING TOM!" He recognized the voice as Tamaki's, along with a loud thud.

"I SWEAR IT WAS AN ACCIDENT!" Kokoda's voice followed very nervously. Kurama sweat dropped and headed upstairs to see what happened.

..He had never seen a stranger sight then the sight he just saw. Kokoda was sitting on the floor rubbing his head. It was obvious Tamaki must have bopped him on the head. Tamaki was pretty much beat red, either from embarrassment or anger hiding behind the bathroom door wrapped in a towel, thank god.

Kurama blinked, "Whats going on?" he asked, making sure to keep his eyes on her face.

Tamaki pointed at Kokoda, "I caught him peeping on me while I was bathing!" she said, a bit annoyed.

Kokoda's face was a bit red, "I was not! The door was left opened slightly and I saw something weird, thats all!" he said.

Kurama sighed a bit, "You guys, I cant seem to leave you alone for a second.", he said, helping Kokoda up. "I apologize Tamaki."

Tamaki sighed a bit and nodded, "It's fine. Sorry for the lump Kokoda.", she said, shutting the door and hopping back in the shower.

Kurama sighed, "That is a nasty bump", he said, unable to not laugh at this. "Lets get some ice for it."

Kokoda nodded, following Kurama downstairs. He rubbed his head. "Man, it ought to be a law against nature for someone as small as her to hit so hard!" he said. "Geez, what does she do in her spare time, fight demons?"

Kurama laughed. Pegged it. "She is tough.", he said. "Which is why it was pretty foolish of you to go messing with her."

Kokoda's eyes widened, "Hey I told you it was an accident!" he said. "I just saw something weird and I peered in by mistake."

Kurama blinked, "Something weird?" he asked, handing him the ice. "What was it?"

Kokoda looked at him, taking the ice, "..Tamaki's back. She has this nasty scar right in the middle of it." He sat up on the counter top, holding the ice. "I walked past the bathroom when I went upstairs and noticed it out of the corner of my eye. I peered in to see and...well, you know the rest."

Kurama blinked a bit, "..A scar?" he asked. Did Hiei do that when he had attacked her the first night they met? "Was it serious looking?"

Kokoda shook his head, "No, it didn't seem to bug her.", he said. "But man, she must had been in one bad mix to get that. It kind of looked like a claw marking. You think an animal attacked her?"

Kurama shrugged. A sword slash would have just looked like a cut. A claw marking...then it wasn't Hiei. "I'm not sure. She never mentioned it."

...He didn't believe an animal gave her that scar. More likely, a demon. Tamaki was strong, no animal in the living world would have been able to get her from behind. Something in his mind was started to put some things together. Her scar. Her apparent parents. It was started to make some sense, but not enough to fully assume what he thought. He needed more information, and he knew he wasn't going to get it from Tamaki. Then he had only one option. He had to see her home again.

"Ah I just remembered!" Kurama said. "Tamaki left her bag at her house, she doesn't have any clothes. Ill run over and get them for her." That was a good enough excuse, plus she really did need some clothes to wear.

Kokoda smiled and nodded, "Okay, Ill let her know.", he said, heading back upstairs to finish his homework, making sure he stayed a good two feet away from the bathroom.

Yusuke had lost consciousness by the time Botan had reached his house. The damage Gouki did to him was pretty serious, but with Botans healing powers he could have him fixed up again by morning. Mayu came back with them once she checked in with the others at the Dojo. She sighed a bititd be pretty pathetic of her to just let her partner die on the job, so she felt it was right to help.

Atsuko was little more than worried when she saw her only son being dragged in by two unknown girls. What happened to my baby?! Is he dead?! she cried, her motherly instincts taking control.

Mayu shook her head, Hes just knocked out, she said. We found him lying in the clearing. Looked like someone jumped him.

Atsuko sighed a bit in relief, glad he wasnt dead. Okay...god who jumped him? A sumo wrestler? She helped the girls lay Yusuke on his bed while Atsuko went hunting for a First Aid kit. When she found it and came back, Botan stood up and took it.

We have it taken care of, Botan said with a smile. Why dont you go and rest. she suggested, knowing this would probably be stressful.

Atsuko smiled and nodded, Thank you, she said, heading out of the room. Once Botan was sure Atsuko was in her room, she headed over to Yusuke and began using her healing powers while Mayu put some bandages on him for the sake of having bandages.

Mayu sighed a bit, Gouki was stronger than expected, she said. And with the Orb, hell only get stronger. Is Koenma positive Yusuke can handle this?

Botan sighed a bit, I hope so...Koenma has always been impulsive, she said. And with only a week before Lord Enma returns, we dont have many other options.

Mayu sighed, And its not only Gouki to worry about, she said. Gouki is by far the weakest one out of the four of them...Ive heard rumors about Kurama, but the girl and the spiky haired one I have no clue on.  
Botan smiled a bit, Well I have faith in you and Yusuke! she said, trying to lighten the mood. Dont worry, Koenma must have SOME faith in him too. He wouldnt have sent him if he didnt think there was a small chance!

Mayu sweat dropped, That doesnt seem all to comforting, she said with a sigh. Ill try my best to keep him alive...but for the most part hes on his own unless he really needs help.

Botan smiled, Honestly thats probably how Yusuke would want it, she said. And now since Yusuke has awareness of his Spirit Gun, the battle might go better.

Yusuke began to stir a bit, the shot up, What happened?! he yelled before looking around. ..Im in my room? What happened to the forest?

Atsuko walked in, hearing Yusuke's voice, "Ah Yusuke you're up! Are you okay?!" she asked, running over.

Yusuke nodded, "I think so.." he said. Soon after he said that, Atsuko whacked him over the head. "Ow! Mother! You just don't go wallop an injured person!"

"You look like you've been fighting with a wrestler!" Atsuko cried, tears brimming in her eyes. " ..You're gonna get yourself killed." she said before sobbing uncontrollably.

Yusuke sweat dropped. "Don't do that Mother, it's okay!" he said, trying to calm her down.

Botan and Mayu smiled over to him, "Glad to see you're up!" Botan said.

Yusuke blinked a bit, "..Oh yeah, you guys saved me.", he said, remembering vaguely what had happened.

Atsuko smiled and nodded, "They sure did!" she said. "Brought you back asleep in their arms, they're really strong."

Mayu smiled a bit, "You're lucky you're not fat, or we might have had some problems.", she said, lightening the mood.

Yusuke glared a bit, "Hey!" he said, knowing she was joking. Botan and Atsuko laughed a bit. "Ill go make us some Tea.", Atsuko said, heading over to the kitchen.

Yusuke sighed a bit, sitting up, "So how'd you find us Botan?" he asked. "I wasn't even sure I knew where we were."

Botan giggled and held out a watch, "Nothing special, I just used this.", she said. "It's a Demon Compass. You can use it to locate any identified demon."

Mayu sweat dropped a bit, "You waited until he was half dead to tell him you had something like that?!" she asked in shock.

Botan sweat dropped, "..Sorry, I figured he wouldn't need it if you were with him.", she said, realizing she screwed up pretty bad.

Yusuke blinked a bit and took the watch, "..Well that'll make finding them a lot easier.", he said, catching it in his hands a bit. "But the real problem is when they're in my face...Gouki was a lot stronger than I thought."

Mayu nodded a bit, "Since hes an ogre demon, his skin is almost impossible to pierce.", she said. "Ive dealt with them before...they're pretty tough..."

Botan sighed a bit and nodded, "Yes.", she said. "Even with Yusuke's Spirit Gun, it might not be enough to pierce it. And lets not forget, we only have a week."

Mayu sighed, "Figures with Koenma.", she muttered, leaning against the wall.

Botan sighed, "I know I should be encouraging you two.", but she trailed off. Yusuke looked down, "We know, the odds aren't good.", he said. They sat in silence for a minute, not sure if they should feel sorry for themselves or fear for the worse. Mayu glanced out to Yusuke's door for a second...Atsuko had the news turned on in the living room.

"..In breaking news, a new outbreak of a unknown illness has caused four children to become comatose in the last few hours.", the broadcast said. "Doctors are baffled, for they have never seen the likes of this before. They advise families to stay indoors."

Yusuke scowled a bit, "Looks like Gouki is having his lunch.", he said, really disgusted at the fact he eats the souls of children.

Botan nodded, "In the past, Gouki had taken souls much more slowly.", she said. "But with the Orb now, he can take as much as he wants."

Mayu looked over to them, "..And those souls.", she said. "How long until the digest?"

Botan shrugged, "I'm not sure.", she said. "One day at the most, I guess." Yusuke hopped up and grabbed his jacket, "Thats all I needed to know...lets go!" he said.

Botan blinked, "To where?" she asked, wondering what he was up to.

"Where else?" Yusuke said. "To find Gouki! And this time, I wont let him escape".

Botan's eyes widen, "But you aren't even fully recovered!" she said. "If you go after him now, you could get killed!" She will never understand why he was so impulsive.

Yusuke sighed a bit, "Theres a lot of things I don't know Botan!" he said. "But isn't it better to lose your life than your soul? I mean they cant even become ghosts! And Ill give up my body before I let that happen!"

Mayu smirked a bit...now she was starting to respect him a bit. "Glad to hear it.", she said. "I'm ready whenever you are."

Botan sighed a bit...no stopping him now. She handed him a weird looking ring, "This is the Concentration Ring, she said. I was suppose to give it to you when your spirit energy became a lot stronger. It'll give your Spirit Gun a huge punch...but after words, you'll be completely exhausted. Only use it as a last resort."

Yusuke nodded and took the ring, "Okay", he said. "On that note, lets go!"


	6. Chapter 6

Kurama quickly made his way through the city to Tamaki's home, wondering if he would be able to make it there before complete sun down. It was dark, but there was still a glimmer of twilight on the horizon. He sighed a bit..this time of day was lovely, but he needed to get her 'clothes'...and all the information he could as soon as possible.

It was a lonely walk, by himself, he had grown accustomed to going around with Tamaki..or at least Hiei, of late. It bothered him..but he could manage on his own. He'd be alone in Hell, soon enough.

He was getting all angst filled again, he didn't like it. He was out to do what he was out to do, and he wasn't going to regret it and get depressing. If Tamaki were to find out before the time came, she would try and stop him. He was sure about this and he didn't need anymore reason to stay in this world then he probably should assess that he has.

"As long as mother survives this and has a good life with her fiancée and Kokoda, then everything is just fine." said Kurama to himself, trying to say the stress away like a cure. Kurama smiled at the image of those three being a happy family...he managed to get to Tamaki's house.

He sneaked into the front window and began to take a few looks around...the house was clean except for thin layers of dust plaguing certain articles of furniture, and a stack of bills waiting to be play laid in the door beyond the door mailbox.

Overall, completely untouched by adults, it seemed. Her parents hadn't been here for a while, at least not a few days. Otherwise, their wouldn't be dust on the couch...he went over to a turned down picture frame and tilted it up.

It was a younger Tamaki and family..it was a lovely picture. Tamaki's eyes were brimming with Youth and innocence, and a father looked stern and the mother looked just to be happy holding her daughter's shoulders. This picture had been laid down for a reason, and everything seemingly was coming together.

Kurama went deeper into the house, trying to find her bed room and get her school uniforms from her closet. This wasn't correct, he hoped..he went into the master bedroom and looked into the closer with disdain. Tamaki's clothes. He gathered them into a small bag he found at the bottom of her closet and went deeper into the house, finally finding the minor bed room.

But, instead of a bed, there was only boxes. Boxes on boxes, stacked as high as the ceiling in the small room would allow all covered in dust. Kurama go sick to his stomach...had Tamaki really been hiding for, all of this time, that her parents didn't even exist..anymore? He took a few more steps and wiped off the dust from some of the boxes, each of them carefully labeling their contents.

Clothes, candles, old toys, photo albums...he tried to tell himself it was from the recent move, but it was impossible. These things but be a mixture of Tamaki's unused things, and her parents old belongings...

Anything that took up to much space or was too painful to look at. Kurama went to the bathroom and got hair brush, deodorant, all the things he thought a girl would want of her own there (including, to his discomfort, a pack of pads) and threw it in, trying not to throw up out of pity. How would he face her now? He had the right to now, but surely it was wrong of him to go and find it out without asking. It was wrong of him to have snooped into what had to have been a very painful corner of her past. And the worst thing about all of this was he felt angry.

Yes, angry...that he had been lied to by Tamaki. He had been as honest as he possibly could, and yet she hid something this big from him. But, that was false too, wasn't it? After all, he was lying as well. About the forlorn hope. Maybe not as directly as Tamaki had ended up lying about her parents, but by not telling her the truth, it was a lie.

He was old enough to understand with-holding the truth was a lie. And as much as Kurama didn't deserve to be lied to, neither did Tamaki. He would have to tell the truth when he got home. Kurama zipped up the bag and walked outside the house.

He walked slowly, and gently, not the same sort of rush he was in as when he first was on the way to the house. Night had fallen while he was inside, and there was no reason to rush. The street lights came on right above him, showering him in a light and making the small moths that hung around the air more visible. In previous years he couldn't wait for them to be replaced my fireflies, he thought, trying to distract himself from his mom and Tamaki.

'Women' he thought, a single word summarized his world at the moment so well, though it didn't imply how he felt one hundred percent...at least he didn't know it did, not yet.

He got to the house and left the bag on the floor, looking up at the nervous looking Tamaki sitting on the couch before him, obviously not eagerly awaiting his return. He walked up to her and sat beside her on the couch.

"I brought your clothes.." he said, gently, watching her bite her nails out of a nervous habit. Tamaki waved her hand a bit, shaking off the pain from biting a little too closely.

"Thank you, I felt a bit silly after I realized I would have to put my dirty clothes back on." she said, laughing nervously and looking to the floor, "..So..you went to my house, huh?" she asked.

"Yes, it seemed..." Kurama started..he didn't have to go through with this, he could pretend he didn't snoop around and figure it out..it would be less painful for Tamaki, and then he wouldn't have to own up to the truth yet, Kurama submitted to this temptation, "Very dusty, I will help you clean it when you return." he said, picking a new sentence.

"Yeah, I haven't gotten much time to clean with the move." said Tamaki, looking up at him quickly, as though shocked he pointed that out, "Did you have any trouble finding anything?"

"Nope, I brought everything I think you would need." said Kurama with a nod, "All we have to worry about it lasting the week..." he said, looking up to the ceiling, "More specifically, my mom lasting the week as well."

"After that, everything will be okay." said Tamaki, switching from the defense to comforting, "We will all do something together...maybe your mom will let me play guitar at her wedding! Wouldn't that be amazing?" she asked. Kurama smiled.

"Yes, I would also like to see that, it'd be perfect." he said, "You really did do well on your performance, earlier."

"Thank you, it means a lot." said Tamaki, looking to her knees....from you, her sentence couldn't help but finish in her head that way. She turned a bit hot in the face, "What should we do? Just go to sleep now?" she asked. Kurama shook his head.

"I think we should clean up the guest bed room, I don't want you staying on the couch and I can't handle it on my own." he said with a sigh, hating to ask her for any further favors, but Tamaki stood up willingly.

"I do most of the chores at home, I can handle it." she said, smiling, "It's the room next to the bathroom, on the right, right?" she asked, unable to not note the double 'right' in her head, out of pure amusement. Her mood changed fast. She hadn't been able to bear with the idea of telling Kurama everything before she was ready, at least not having him find out on his own..but he probably already knew.

Kurama smiled, "I won't ask you to do all of the work, of course...or much lifting." he said, teasing her for being a girl a bit. Tamaki crossed her arms.

"You know I am strong." she said. Kurama laughed, and nodded.

"Yes, I do, but it is okay for me to joke as well." he said, heading for the stairs and going up them, with no further prompt. Tamaki just followed and was led into the guest bedroom.

Kurama opened the door and coughed a bit, this place had more dust then Tamaki's home that was for certain, he took something and began to beat the bed and the curtains to get it off of it, "Okay, looks like we just need to dust a few things and get rid of some of this junk that had been thrown." said Kurama, ushering her with the dust beater then handing it to her to do the dusting while he carried out the stuff.

"Understood!" said Tamaki, playing war. It was only a few minutes before the room was clean, instead of the 20-30 minutes Kurama had originally guessed...he must have over-reacted.

"Is this good enough?" he asked, wondering if he should dust it a bit more .Tamaki shook her head, humbly.

"No, this is fine. Thank you very much, I'll get that bag you packed for me and settle in." she said with a smile, rubbing her head, "Thank you, again." she added.

"Really, it isn't a big deal, this is for your safety." said Kurama, with a smile looking around the room out of his own OCD, "Okay, well, I'll get you bag for you and let you settle then, after that I'll head to bed myself."

Tamaki nodded, "Got it." she said, straightening out the top comforter of the bed for a moment, to fiddle with her hands. Kurama went downstairs and grabbed the bag, carefully putting it outside of the door without disturbing her, and went on to his room.

Today would have been bad if hadn't chickened out, he couldn't help but think. He should have been honest about the forlorn hope and snooping but it was so much easier to put it off. He would come clean, eventually, he was just...procrastinating. That was all. He went to his room and laid on the bed carefully. Kokoda came walking in after a while.

"Shuichi, " he whined, "I can't figure this stuff out." he said, sitting on the bed and pointing to the math book. Kurama nodded and analyzed it.

"Take that letter to the other side." he said, seeing what the problem was. Kokoda sweat dropped.

"Oh..thanks.." he said, realizing his mistake, "Anyway, how is everything going?" he asked, trying to put off his homework further.

"Get back to work, Kokoda." said Kurama teasingly, seeing immediately he was being used, "If I distract you and you get a bad grade, we'll both get in trouble." Kokoda pouted.

"Hey, you are the one with distractions around here." he said, bringing that back up again. Kurama blushed.

"Must you keep saying stuff like that? I told you..." said Kurama, ending his lecture with a sigh, "Just run along before I call your father, okay?" he asked, trying to scare him a little bit. Kokoda didn't fall for it, but ran with it.

"Okay, okay! I'm out of here!" he said, gathering his math things and running back over to his room.

Kurama laid back down and tried to relax, today had been nonstop everything. It was dark outside his window now and all he wanted to do was sleep it all away, so he could relax for the next day. He shut his eyes and eventually passed on to the world of sleep.

Tamaki went into the bed room a bit late, trying to bade him good night but found he was asleep, a bit disappointed. She sighed...he wasn't dense enough to not figure out her parents weren't going to come home, from being there on his own? Maybe he just didn't analyze everything.

Kurama was very quick to trust, or at least to trust her. It was painful to lie to him but it felt so..needed? Maybe she would tell him the truth tomorrow. She wasn't sure if it'd work out for the best, something needed to be done however. She had to tell him in the morning, it was the right thing to do. She left the room and closed the door

The sound of the closing door awakened him..which was a bit helpful, his dreaming was a bit rough and about his mother. He looked down at himself then up at the moon...it was practically full...maybe a phase off..

Maybe if he did it tonight, he could get it over with..know his mom was safe, and that Tamaki wouldn't find out and try and stop it. That could work..the moon was so close..it might even get fuller as the night fell...he sneaked out his window and ran for the hospital.

Yusuke stood beside Mayu at the edge of the forest, the demon compass leading them to this meeting place once more. Mayu was gripping her pole.

"I think I better help out this time, I am trying to remember what is weakest point on these things..." said Mayu, stroking the end of her pole with her thumb. Yusuke shrugged.

"With this concentration ring, I got one shot to annihilate him, so you better remember it right." he said, looking over at her. Mayu glared.

"I am trying my best..." she said, glancing down at the compass, "Damn, no more time to wait here, he's getting ready to move." she said, pointing at it and getting Yusuke's attention. Yusuke looked down at it.

"Okay, you hold back and I'll get it. We need to get those souls back." he said, gripping the compass to hide the front and running forward. Mayu leaned her head forward and ran quickly behind him.

Yusuke finally paused again outside of the clearing, Gouki was there all right. He put on the concentration ring and jumped in, "Hey, ugly!" he yelled, at the top of his lungs. Gouki turned around and gripped the orb of destruction once again, "Well, looky there, I get to beat up you again. How fun!" he said. He slung his head back and laughed readily. Mayu blinked a bit...she got it! But she couldn't yell it out, Yusuke would have to reach the same conclusion.

Yusuke smirked a bit and began to throw a barrage of punched to try and distract him for a moment so maybe he could take the orb and get Mayu to run with it while he got the souls out. He saw them glowing in Gouki's stomach and before he knew it his anger was giving him extra power, but not nearly enough. Gouki laughed again.

"Can't you figure it out, you can't pierce me!" he laughed, again, kicking Yusuke off and to the ground, "I should just eat your soul now. You won't be as tasty as a child but..."

Yusuke growled up at him and gripped the grass, "You ain't getting my soul!" he shouted, using his legs to kick him over like a big dumb tree. Gouki fell to the ground, but continued his mocking laughter.

"You will never defeat me!" he said, slowly getting himself back up. Yusuke was getting himself back up as well, but he decided it was time to take his shot...as much as he hated to admit it, he was getting completely dominated when it came to pure physical strength. He figured something out.

His skin might not be able to be pierced, but the inside...

"Hey, you know what, you are totally going to lose!" said Yusuke, quickly, trying to think fast. Gouki laughed again.

"You wish, kiddo, you wish!" he said, Yusuke began charging behind his back.

"Yeah, thats right, keep laughing!" he said, slinging his hand forward and aiming it at the back of his throat. The spirit energy ball, much bigger then normal size, went in and destroyed him from the inside, Yusuke ducked down to not be effect by any of the after shock waves, but they almost cleared out a layer of trees. Luckily, for Mayu's sake, they remained standing. But, throughly charred.

Yusuke stood up around the smoking earth and smirked, "Ha! I did it this time!" he said, before swaying backward on to his butt. Mayu ran out of the brush and went to him, "You did very well." she bade.

"Hell..yeah I did!" said Yusuke, a bit weaker then the adrenaline allowed response before he tripped. Botan floated down, "So, what we have to carry him again?" she asked with a giggle.

"Seems like it." said Mayu, scooping him up.

"I'm not..passed out yet..you crazy chicks!" he said, a bit irritated.

"You are about to be, lets get him home and plan the next attack." said Mayu, "Who are we going to get next?"

"Either Kurama or Hiei..." said Botan, going to decide things without Yusuke, sense they considered him about the same level as someone who was passed out now. Yusuke growled.

"Listen, I am still awake..." he said, weakly, struggling against Mayu until he fell on to the ground. Mayu put her hands on her hips.

"See, now, I am sorry but you just totally did that to yourself." she said, a bit angry at him. Botan sighed and helped him to his feet.

"We will walk you to the hospital so your mom doesn't freak out on me, okay?" Botan asked with a small smile. Yusuke would have rejected but..simply put...he couldn't take the idea of walking all the way home just to get his mom crying all over him.

"Okay..." said Yusuke, putting an arm around Botan. Mayu blinked for a moment before smiling, crossing her arms.

"If I didn't know any better I'd say there was something going on between you two." said Mayu, trying to be less serious and pick on her friend. Botan rolled her eyes.

"No, Yusuke has a human girlfriend." she said before looking forward to the city in front of the park, seeing a mass of red hair going in direction towards the hospital. She took a quick glance to the demon compass..it was going wild.

"That's Kurama!" said Botan, "We should follow him and see what he's up to! He's on our way, anyway!" she said. Mayu nodded.

"You're right, lets make haste!" she said, running head. Yusuke weakly tried to assist Botan with the running to make sure they got to the hospital before Kurama did anything with the mirror or whatever was going through the minds of his two female companions..and whatever was going on, that he wouldn't be too late.


	7. Chapter 7

Yusuke, Botan and Mayu finally caught up with Kurama...which Yusuke had thought was extremely stupid! If he tried to fight him now, he'd be meat on a stick! Then again, it was probably their best chance to get Kurama.

Kurama noticed them, and remembered the boy and the fire apparition girl. He walked by, looking as normal as possible. As he walked pass Yusuke, he began using telepathically communication to talk to him.

"Don't worry...I have no intention of fighting.", he said. "Nor do I intend to flee. In fact...I came to ask you a favor."

Yusuke stared at him, "Are you crazy?! he asked. His team mate tried ripping him to shreds, and now the other was asking for his help. It didn't make sense.

Kurama sighed a bit, "..If you have trouble trusting me, meet me outside the local hospital in a little while.", he said. "If you do...I swear I will explain my reason for taking the Forlorn Hope and gladly return it to you." After he said that, he had already walked out of sight.

Yusuke looked over at Botan, "..I guess were heading to the hospital after all.", he said, trying to make it humorous.

Botan's eyes widened, "You mean you're actually going?!" she asked in shock. "Isn't that a bit reckless?!"

Yusuke blinked, "So?" he asked. "Do I have many other options?" He hobbled over to a bench to sit for a second.

Botan sighed and went over to him, "But it could be a trap you know!" she said. "Lets not forget his dear old teammate tried to rip you into tiny bits."

Mayu looked up, "..True that might be...but the question is where his loyalty truly lies.", she said. "I overheard the four of them arguing over Kurama and Tamaki leaving the alliance."

Botan and Yusuke blinked, "Huh?" they both said. Yusuke sat up a bit, When did you hear that? he asked.

Mayu sat up a bit, "When I sensed Gouki's energy, I used telepathic abilities to try to pick up where his group was hiding.", she said." ..Kurama and Tamaki both said they were leaving. I'm not sure what happened after that...but then the girl was suddenly so silent, and Kurama decided to stay."

Yusuke looked over to her, "..I get it now, he said. So what you're saying is...Kurama was forced to stay."

Mayu nodded, "If my hunch is right. And I'm pretty sure it is.", she said. "They used Tamaki as bait to keep them there."

Botan interjected, "But that still doesn't explain why they worked with them in the first place!" she said. "They want the Forlorn Hope for their own gain!"

Mayu looked over to her, "But does that make them evil?" she asked. "..I don't know, but maybe we should give them a shot. He has promised to return it."

Botan sighed, "Well it'd be pointless to get it back if his wish destroys the world.", she reminded them.

Yusuke looked over to her, "I dunno Botan, something tells me to trust him.", he said. "His eyes looked more sad then evil."

Botan sighed in defeat, "Very well, go on to your meeting with Kurama.", she said. "And Ill head over to Spirit World to find out more about the Forlorn Hope. But please be careful."

Yusuke nodded a bit, "Yeah yeah, Ill be walking on eggshells.", he said, hopping up to head out. Botan rode her ore out of there and back to Spirit World to talk to Koenma. Mayu helped Yusuke limp to the hospital where Kurama was waiting.

Tamaki woke up a bit, feeling a chill down her spine. As an Ice Apparition, cold weather never bothered her. In fact they prefer it cold...it helps their strength. But this cold wasn't the kind that nipped your nose during a snow storm. It felt...disturbed. Like something was about to happen. Something she didn't want to happen.

A paranoid feeling made her want to check on the guys to see if they were alright. Silly, yes, but it'd make her feel a bit better. She silently sneaked out into the hall way without making a sound and looked over in Kokoda's room. He was sound asleep, his homework spread out over his bed. He must have passed out and not have finished it. She sighed a bit, needing to remember to tell him to finish it before he went to school. She shut the door quietly and sneaked over to Kurama's. She opened the door...and found it empty.

Tamaki blinked a bit. Where did he run off to? she said out loud. She noticed the window was opened and peered out. ..He sneaked out the window? For what though? Her eyes widen a bit as Hiei's face materialized in her mind...had Hiei challenged him to fight? If he did, Kurama was sure to need backup! Hiei was no pushover! She climbed out the window quickly and started running down the street. She couldn't sense any energy, so they must not be so close. She thought for a moment...where would Kurama most likely go..

..The hospital! She poured it on now, heading there now. All of a sudden something flew right past her head very fast. Tamaki looked up and saw Botan up on her ore, looking very frantic.

Botan was basically freaking out...Koenma had told her the fate the befalls anyone who uses the Forlorn Hope and had now pieced together what Kurama and Tamaki had done now. She looked into Shiori's records...she was deathly ill. And Kurama was going to use it tonight...he had to tonight! Shiori wouldn't make it through this night unless he did it. She looked down and spotted Tamaki on the ground and recognized her.

Botan zoomed down towards her without a second thought, "Tamaki!" she cried. "We have to go, quickly!"

Tamaki blinked, "..Botan?" she asked, remembering her from when she met with Koenma. "Whats going on?"

"It's Kurama!" Botan cried. "He's going to use the Forlorn Hope! We need to hurry!"

Tamaki sighed a bit in relief...for a second she had thought something had happened. "Don't worry, she said. Kurama isn't going to harm anyone with the mirror. He isn't evil. He just needs it so he can help his mother."

Botan blinked a bit. "..You...don't know what will happen, do you?" she asked. "If Kurama uses it...hell lose his life."

Tamaki's eyes widened in shock. "..What?! No! What do you mean hell lose his life?!" she cried, a bit scared.

Botan looked down, "In order for it to work, the user must give something in exchange.", she said. "And that thing...is life."

..Whatever color Tamaki did have in her face was drained out...Kurama was...going to die. In order to save his mother. No...not again! Not another death of a loved one! She couldn't bear it again. If Kurama died...that pain would just come back again. And it wouldn't just be her that time. Shiori would also feel it...and no one, not even the cruelest of monsters, should ever have to feel that pain. No one.

Tamaki looked at her, "..Where is he now?" she asked.

Botan blinked a bit, "He should still be at the hospital.", she said. And before Botan could even fit in another word, Tamaki took off running faster than ever. Botan's eyes widen, "Hey! Wait up!" she cried, following her. Meanwhile, Kurama had just finished explaining his story to Yusuke and Mayu.

"..So thats it.", Yusuke said. "You stole it so you can save Shiori's life." Kurama nodded, "Yes.", he said. "Just allow me to do so, and you can gladly take it back."

Mayu blinked a bit, "..But what about the girl?" she asked. "Why did she help you? What does she gain out of it?"

Kurama looked down and smiled a bit, "..I could never answer that, even if I had a hundred years to ponder the question.", he said. "Maybe she just liked Shiori...maybe she felt it as atonement for something a long time ago...Ill probably never know. But...I think the most likely reason is shes...just a kind person."

"..Or perhaps our little silver-haired mistress has a thing for redheads?" Yusuke asked with a smirk, being stupid.

Kurama blushed a bit and Mayu whacked him over the head, "Idiot!" she yelled, since he ruined the drama in it.

Suddenly the nurse ran out onto the roof. "Shuichi! Its your mother!" she cried. Kurama's eyes widened a bit and the three of them ran down to where his mother was.

The doctor went up to Kurama, "Shes entered what we call The Critical stage." he said. "..To be perfectly honest, your mother is about to die."

Kurama tried to remain calm on the surface, "...How long?" he asked.

The doctor sighed, "Probably tonight.", he said. "Well do the best we can...Shuichi I'm sorry, he added.", turning back to Shiori trying to save her life.

Kurama raced back up to the roof top, with Yusuke and Mayu following behind him. "So you're going to use it now?!" Yusuke asked when they reached the roof.

Kurama nodded, "I have no choice now", he said, getting the Forlorn Hope out. "If I don't now, my mother will most likely die."

Yusuke blinked a bit, "I heard you have to dish something out to the thing in order to make it work.", he said. "Do you know what it is?"

Kurama nodded, "..Yes...life.", he said. Mayu's eyes widened, "What did you say it needed?!" she asked.

Kurama sighed, "In order to grant my wish, I must give my life to the Forlorn Hope.", he said, starting to activate it. "Come Forlorn Hope...awake from your slumber and grant my greatest desire." It started glowing a bright white light.

Yusuke's eyes widen, "Hey wait a minute!" he cried. C'mon man, isn't there some other way to do this?!"

Kurama's eyes lowered, "..No.", he said. Shiori's image was in the mirror. "The happiness of this woman is your greatest desire, and you're desire shall be fulfilled." It started taking Kurama's life away. Kurama cringed in pain a bit...so this was the end then.

"KURAMA!" a voiced yelled from close by. Kurama turned and saw Tamaki running towards him.

His eyes widen in shock a bit, "Tamaki?!" he asked...he was a little happy to get to see her one last time.

But Tamaki had no intention of letting him die. At least not alone, if she couldn't stop him. She put her hands on the mirror as well. "No!" she cried.

Kurama's eyes widen. "Tamaki, what are you doing?!" he cried, watching it take her life as well.

Tamaki cringed, but looked at Kurama, "I...wont let you die like this!" she cried through the pain.

Kurama looked at her, "Get away! Hurry!" he cried. "This is my wish! You shouldn't have to suffer with me!"

Tamaki looked at him back, "Do you honestly think this is noble of you Kurama?!" she yelled a bit. Kurama blinked a bit...what did she mean by that? Tamaki flinched again from the pain. "Do you think sacrificing yourself will make everything better?!" she continued. "Have you ever thought about how everyone else will feel when you're gone?! Do you think Shiori would be happy that her son is dead?! Are you really going to let her mourn that for the rest of her life?! How about Kokoda?! He needs you there for him! How do you think he'd feel knowing his big brother died?! And what about the rest of your family?! You're friends, the people that care about you?!" Her voice got a little softer. "And...what... about me...didn't you think Id be sad when you were gone? I don't want to find that happening. She looked into the mirror. Forlorn Hope, grant Kurama's wish, but take my life instead!"

Kurama's eyes widened a bit, thinking of Tamaki's words. "But what about you?!" he asked. "Doesn't anything you just said apply to you at all?!"

Tamaki looked down," ..No it doesn't, she said. ..It doesn't matter if I live or die anymore. It hasn't mattered for a long time now...because the only ones who would have actually had cared...are dead." Then the light of the Forlorn Hope swallowed them both.


	8. Chapter 8

Suddenly, however, the mirror cracked with a loud pop, and the glowing stopped. Kurama fell on his stomach on to the hard pavement of the ceiling, Tamaki popped backwards on her back, both of them completely confused. Kurama was scared, after the dull confusion faded, he sat up.

"I'm alive..." he said, softly. Tamaki wasn't moving at that moment, and panic flooded through his veins until he saw her slowly sitting up. Mayu ran over to Tamaki, "Are you okay?" she asked, feeling the need to check the girl's help before the boys.

"..I am...I am okay..." said Tamaki, her voice full of shock and awe. Her eyes were still flooded with tears, but she wasn't crying, She took her sleeve to her eyes, "Wh-What is going on?" she asked, looking over to Kurama. A big booming voice spoke up.

"You two have proven...to be very selfless." the mirror said, "I have taken so many lives, because they didn't know the price of their wish to be rich or famous. But, you two, you both risked your live for other lives..." the voice was that of an old powerful man, even though it was obviously coming from the reflective object on the ground, "I will grant your wish, and spare your lives. Both of you."

Kurama was stunned, and almost didn't believe it until a doctor came up on to the roof, "Shuichi! It's a miracle, your mom is suddenly recovering!"

Yusuke ran over to the mirror and picked it up, 'recovering', "It's..broken..but the wish is granted...?" he asked, a bit shocked. Botan flew to his side.

"I guess the spirit was so shocked by the selflessness it released itself..." she said softly, taking the mirror and packing it inside of her Kimono. Tamaki struggled upwards, with Mayu's help. Mayu looked at her like she was stupid.

"That was very dumb, Tamaki, you have to be smarter then that." said Mayu, not using an honorific, "If the forlorn hope had taken your life, rather then Kurama's, don't you think HE would have been sad?" she asked, a bit sharp on her for an unknown reason.

Tamaki felt like she was being scolded and sank back, "D-Don't talk to me like that! He.." she said, biting her lower lip...she was so mad, she forgot to count the person she was doing it for, didn't she? Mayu shook her head, and Kurama came over there.

"Thank you three for everything, letting me make my wish..." he said, bowing quickly but not looking Tamaki in the eyes, running down for his mother. Tamaki was feeling left out.

"Is he..mad at me?" she asked, feeling like a child who's parents were disappointed.

"He had tears in his eyes, he probably didn't want you to see them." said Mayu, her eye's lowering, "..And maybe a little bit mad." she said, having to be honest. Tamaki sighed and separated from the taller girl.

"I'll..have to apologize for being so reckless." said Tamaki, rubbing her head and trying not to think about it, "..I was wrong on a lot of points, wasn't I? My parents..they wouldn't want to see my die too soon..too..."

"One person can affect lives just by being alive. If you feel like you are alone right now, you don't know who you'll meet and help the next day. That's a basic rule of life, survival. Don't throw it away recklessly." she said. Tamaki nodded and got away from her, running down towards the stairs to go to talk to Kurama and check on Shiori.

Yusuke blinked and walked over to Mayu, "You are being to hard on the chick, man, she was just trying to help."

"Kurama will get his too, from you I hope." said Mayu, her eye's still lowered and looking over to Yusuke, "You of all people should be angry, having died and come back. Life is to precious to just throw away, even if you think you are being noble, you are going to hurt someone."

Yusuke sighed, "You are just a hard hearted ol-"

"Finish that sentence and you'll find out just how 'Hard Hearted' I am. You know I am right, it was before both of their times. Thank god it worked out for Kurama's mother, though.." she said with a sigh, following Tamaki. Yusuke sweat dropped and looked over to Botan.

"What the hell is her problem?" asked Yusuke.

"It's just the way she was brought up, it's pretty reverse at her Dojo. Suicide is considered the lowest form of death, as opposed to a Samurai or something." laughed Botan nervously, trying to cover for her.

"It wasn't suicide, it was..erm...eh, whatever," said Yusuke, brushing off Mayu's bad feelings, "At least everyone is happy, lets go check it out." he said, him and Botan finally going down to the hospital room.

Tamaki was at Kurama's side, gripping his sleeve carefully and smiling as Shiori was sitting up and smiling and everything. The evidence of her having been sick was there, she was covered in a fine layer of sweat and there was still redness in her cheeks. But she looked..refreshed. Excited and happy. She was a perfect picture of health.

"We can't figure out how it happened, but she seems to have made a full recovery!" said the doctor, the very doctor that told Kurama she was doomed himself.

Kurama smiled and took a step toward his mother, Tamaki still attached to him lightly and hugged her with one arm, not wanting to shake Tamaki off. Tamaki got the idea that he wanted her hug her and let go softly, letting Kurama squeeze her tight.

"I knew you could do it, I knew you could!" said Kurama, completely happy. Shiori smiled and patted him on the back, "Yes..I couldn't have made it if I didn't know I had you to return to.." she said.

Kurama looked up at her, "What..?" he asked softly.

"If I didn't know...that Shuichi would be all alone without me...or at least feel like he would be...I wouldn't have made it, thank you. You are the reason I made it, Shuichi!" he said happily. Tamaki teared up a little.

Kurama smiled a little bit, "Thank you, mom, I love you very much.." he said, patting her on the head. Tamaki patted Kurama on the head, "Um...sorry if I was reckless..in getting here." she said, quickly, knowing Kurama would understand what she meant.

"It's okay, Tamaki, we were all worried...and you told me some things I probably needed to be told.." he said gently, looking up at her with forgiveness. Tamaki was relieved.

"And thank you for getting better, Shiori-san.." she said softly. Shiori smiled.

"Thank you for being kind to me." she said politely. Kurama pushed her down, "Now, you just recovered so please get some rest."

"She can come back home first thing tomorrow." said a cheerful, and apparently faith renewed nurse, "I'll get the discharge filed over night."

"Thank you!" said Kurama, for the umpteenth time today. He stood up and turned to Tamaki, "I'll make sure you get home okay, okay?" he asked. Tamaki smiled and nodded. He turned to Mayu and Yusuke, who were just standing in the doorway trying not to be seen.

"Thank you two, as well..." said Kurama. Mayu nodded a bit, and opened her mouth to speak her mind but Yusuke cut her off.

"Whatever makes everyone happy, man!" he said. Mayu glared at him. Botan giggled.

"You just have to recover one more artifact now, are you to up for it?" she asked them, unable to be seen by anyone but Tamaki, Kurama, and those too.

"Yeah, the sword, that doesn't seem like such a big job." said Yusuke with a nod.

"It will be. Hiei will be strong." said Mayu, a slightly laziness overtaking her, "We were extremely lucky to get two back as quickly as we have, but we will have to make sure we use the extra time to prepare ourselves for him."

Kurama came into the conversation, "She's right." he whispered, "You two best be careful. He'll probably use all his strength to claim his last asset." Tamaki sighed.

"If there is anything we can tell you to help..." she started, trailing a bit.

"No, not really.." said Botan, nodding a bit, "You two get some relaxation, for a while, okay? You need it after all of this..trouble." she said, trying to avoid a word like drama.

"Understood." said Kurama, "I am going to get Tamaki home now, good night." he said, heading down the hallway and for the doors to the elevator. Yusuke turned to Mayu and Botan.

"I told you guys he wasn't evil!" he said.

"I agreed with you..." said Mayu, crossing her arms irritatedly, "Lets get out of here, as well...we need a plan of attack." she said.

"It's simple. I go in, and blast him, and we take the sword." said Yusuke feeling confident and punching his hand. Mayu sweat dropped.

"That's a bad idea..maybe I should fight this one.." said Mayu, rubbing her head.

"No way, I don't want to see a girl get her butt kicked." said Yusuke, laughing heartily before falling to the ground..he was on so much adrenaline from the drama, he was on empty now. Mayu grabbed his collar and dragged him, not feeling like carrying him.

"My mistake." she said Sarcastically. Botan sighed, "We'll figure something out. We just got to find Hiei first." she said. All of a sudden, a rock fell down above her head and it hit the ground in front of her, with a not tied to it.

"....I have Keiko?" asked asked Botan, looking over at her, "Who's that?" Botan gasped.

"Oh my god, oh my god, we are screwed! He must have taken her and sent someone to give the message!" she said, landing and smacking Yusuke with the oar, "Yusuke, Yusuke get up!"

Yusuke woke up from his drained and dragged state, "...What?" he asked, now tired obviously, "..Why am I on the ground...?"

Mayu sighed, "Someone by the name of Keiko, I think Hiei has captured her, do you know that person?" she asked. Yusuke shot up.

"Is that some sort of fucking prank!?" he asked, yelling at Mayu at the top of his lungs.

"...Oh my god, that's Yusuke's girlfriend!" she said, smacking her forehead for being so darn dense. Yusuke groaned.

"She's not my girlfriend, but we got to go get her!" yelled Yusuke, running forward adrenaline powered again. Mayu was worried.

"This isn't going to work, he's practically a zombie!" she said, following after him. Even on empty, he was faster.

"There has got to be a way to transfer him some extra energy.." said Botan. Mayu sighed a bit.

"I don't know a technique like that, do you?" she asked. Botan nodded, "Yes, I do..." she said with a sigh, grabbing Mayu's shoulder, "I'll give him some of your power for now, so he can make it okay?"

"If you say so, it's the only thing that's gonna work." she said. Yusuke was the spirit detective, not her, it would be the proper procedure if Yusuke was going to refuse to stop running. Yusuke wasn't even slowing down, not in the least. He needed to save Keiko..she was his best friend, as hard as it was to admit. She was annoying as hell, but damn it if she was going to die because he was too 'tired' to save her. Screw that! He suddenly felt himself powered with a sort of red energy, flowing through his veins hotly. It was uncomfortable, but any energy was welcome at this point.

Mayu was struggling to stand, Botan had taken to much, "I think...I better...fall back and let you handle this, Yusuke." she called, forward. Botan was mouthing apologize. Yusuke sighed, "Yeah, yeah, whatever! I am in a hurry!" he yelled. Mayu nodded and let herself collapse a bit, heading over to a bench and sitting on it. Yusuke just kept running, and before she knew it she was asleep.

Hiei stumbled overhead, not having sent someone as Botan had thought. Great, two hostages will make the situation even more dire. He'll get revenge for him ruining his plans, and make sure Yusuke's death made him feel as low possible. He grabbed Mayu by her collar, ironically, and began to run off back to his hide out.

He had to do this. He couldn't believe Kurama had betrayed him like this, but fighting him wasn't a safe option. He'll get his revenge on the spirit detective, then proceed on his plans best he could.

Kurama was taking Tamaki home with a gentle expression of happiness on his face. He couldn't believe it, everything was working out to everyone's best. The detective would stop Hiei, and everyone would be able to live semi normal lives. He turned to Tamaki.

"...So...I was right, you're parents are.." he said, confronting her mildly.

"Yes, they are..." she said softly, "I shouldn't have lied to you, but I am glad you forgive me," she said.

"It must be a pain to pay off all of the left over bills, are you doing okay financially?" he asked, stopping in front of her house. Tamaki nodded, "Yeah..." she said. It was hard, but she always managed at the end of the month. Kurama curled his lips.

"You could stay with us, still." he said, "Kokoda still believes your house is being fumigated. It might be for the best." he said, trying to make it easier on her. He was probably all she had now, and he felt bad for almost throwing that away for her. Tamaki was tempted.

"..Would it be a trouble..?" she asked. It could help. She could sell this old place and move on...use the money for college, and stuff like that...she was really tempted.

"You can stay as long as you need, Shiori loves you." said Kurama with a small, not exaggerating. Tamaki rubbed her head.

"Okay...well...I guess if it's not a burden.." she said, laughing a bit. Kurama smiled, "Okay, lets just head on home then." he said, passing her house and going on to his. It would be awkward, living with a girl who wasn't related, but he was sure it'd work out best for everyone. It'd be wonderful.


	9. Chapter 9

Yusuke was basically pouring it on now...that bastard Hiei was gonna pay for kidnapping Keiko! He would make sure of it. Botan was following behind him, keeping watch on the Compass. "We're close!" she said.

Yusuke nodded, "Good!" he said. They finally reached the warehouse where Hiei was hiding out at. They burst the door open. "Get out here Hiei! Yusuke yelled. I'm gonna kick your ass!"

Suddenly normal humans started coming forward...but they seemed completely out of it. Botan gasped, "They're being controlled!" she said. "But the sword couldn't control these many people...so he must have the Jagan eye!"

"Heh, very good.", a voice said. "Looks like we know who the brains are in this team." Botan lowered her eyes. "Hiei!" she said. "Come out now!"

Hiei appeared, smirking his cocky smirk as always. "Its impressive that you hadn't succumbed to the power of the Jagan.", he said. "The Spirit World fools picked pretty decent candidates."

Yusuke stared at the third eye right smack in the middle of his forehead. "..Thats some pimple.", he said.

Botan looked over to him, "It's his Jagan eye.", she said. "It can amplify his power greatly."

Yusuke scoffed, 'Big deal!" he said. "I'll still knock his stupid-ass out! Now give me back Keiko!"

Hiei laughed, "Now I wouldn't be going around making empty threats.", he said. "Not unless you don't care what happens to your precious Keiko. Now do you have the other two artifacts?"

Yusuke glared at him and held up the Orb and the Mirror. Hiei smirked, "Oh good boy.", he said, while Yusuke handed him over. "You may have her." The two controlled humans who had her let her drop to the ground. Yusuke's eyes widened, "Keiko!" he cried, running over to her.

Hiei just laughed in delight, holding the other two artifacts. :So what if my plan had a few set backs, the end results are still the same."

Yusuke smirked a bit, "..You shouldn't talk so much, it makes you sound stupid.", he said. "Now that Ive got Keiko back, all I gotta do now is rip out your teeth!"

Hiei smirked a bit, "I'd like to see you try.", he said, very confidently. He just laughed on again at him.

Yusuke glared at him. "You know, that cocky laugh of yours is starting to piss me off!" he yelled, charging at him.

Hiei suddenly darted away from Yusuke's punch. Yusuke blinked, "He vanished!" he said. Hiei smirked and reappeared. "I'm still here.", he said. I" only moved gently to the side. Was that a real hit? I was under the assumption it was a joke...oh wait, you're not amused." Yusuke glared at him...little cryptic bastard! Hiei just smirked once more, "Oh, and as for Keiko." he added.

Yusuke's eyes widened, "What?!" he yelled...what was he up to now?!

Hiei laughed, "Did you honestly think Id relinquish my hostage without the reward?" he said, mocking Yusuke. "Look closely at her Yusuke, you can see shes still mine."

Yusuke glared at him, "You're lying!" he yelled, running over to Keiko. He and Botan both looked at her, watching an ugly third eye form on her forehead.

Hiei laughed again, "Am I?" he asked. "You may have her body, but her future is mine. You see I struck her with the Shadow Sword. And once that eye opens...she becomes a demon! Not a very smart one I'm afraid, but perfect for a slave."

Yusuke's eyes widened. "No!" he yelled, watching the third eye on Keiko's head open. Botan jumped in front a bit, "Move!" she cried, using her energy to re-close the eye.

Yusuke looked over at Botan in shock, "What are-" he started. Botan looked back at him, "Ill keep the eye from opening!" she said. "Now you go punch his brains out!"

Hiei laughed at that, "You better punch them out quickly then if you care about your assistant." he said. He looked over at Botan, "I can feel her precious energy draining. Pity, her poor body is giving everything it has. Soon you'll have a girlfriend who's a demon and an assistant who's dead."

Yusuke gasped, "Botan, is that true?!" he asked...she was killing herself to save Keiko for him.

Botan cringed, "Don't...worry about me.", she said. "Just stop Hiei! It was sucking away all of her energy, but she kept going."

Yusuke glared at Hiei, "Oh thats it!" he yelled. Hiei laughed, "I'm glad you're so enthused." he said. "The game will be more exciting that way."

Yusuke blinked, "What game?!" he asked.

Hiei smirked and held up the sword, "The hilt of this sword is hallow.", he said. "Contained inside it is the only antidote to stop the swords effect. Get the sword, girl will live. Fun, right? Think of it as a little game of tag."

Yusuke glared at him even harder, "Bastard!" he yelled. Hiei laughed, "Be careful what you call me.", he said. "Don't forget I have dear little Keiko's life in my hands. I can make her transform anytime I want...and even if you didn't care about the girl, I have a back-up reassurance."

Yusuke blinked, "What are you talking about?" he asked. Hiei smirked and snapped his fingers, having his controlled humans bring out Mayu. Yusuke's eyes widen, "Mayu!" he cried...she was out cold. He glared at Hiei, "What did you do to her?!"

Hiei laughed, "Relax, I didn't lay a finger on her.", he said. "She's just asleep, nothing more. Of course I cannot guarantee it'll remain that way though."

..That was the last straw. Yusuke pretty much had all he could stand of Hiei. He leaped up and punched Hiei straight in the face, while Hiei had no chance to get away that time. It wasn't the punch that hurt him, but pretty much the shock of it. He knew Yusuke wasn't that fast before.

Hiei looked over at him, "What happened Spirit Detective, he said. You weren't that fast before."

Yusuke glared at him, "This isn't a game jerk-face!" he yelled. "Keiko, Botan and Mayu are my friends!"

Hiei narrowed his eyes a bit, "Now I see.", he said. "You're a decent fighter on your own, but when your friends are on the line your power increases greatly. You're a team player...a save-the-day superhero...I hate people like you." Yusuke just smirked...the feeling was mutual. Hiei just smirked,  
"And yes Spirit Detective, I admit you surprised me.", he said. "But as a true amateur you failed to take advantage of the situation! You didn't get back the sword, a mistake that will prove fatal! Because now that I know it, I wont be dropping my guard any longer. The world doesn't give many chances...you just missed yours"

Yusuke sighed, "Are you done yapping yet?!" he asked, getting impatient...all this guy did was flap his lips!

Hiei glared, "Not quite!" he said, getting ready to attack. He leaped and, at least to human eyes, seemed to have disappear. In truth he was moving so fast it was almost impossible to tell where he was. Luckily for Yusuke he wasn't just any human, and was able to pin his movements. He just punched him in his face again, sending Hiei flying forward.

Hiei stood back up, whipping some blood away from his lower lip. He glared at him, "Now you're dead!" he yelled.

Yusuke sighed, "See Hiei thats what I'm talking about!" he yelled. "Yap yap yap, like you're some crappy pro-wrestler! Than what happens? You have to eat up all your words! Its pretty dumb!"

Hiei glared at him and removed his cloak, not going to take that insult to his pride, "Consider this a compliment...Ive never transformed for a human before.", he said. With that, his energy started rising...Yusuke blinked...what was he up to?

Meanwhile Kurama and Tamaki were still walking back to Kurama's house from the hospital. Tamaki yawned a bit...the Mirror drained a lot of her energy, she was wiped out.

Kurama smiled over at her, "Tired?" he asked with a slight chuckle.

Tamaki giggled a bit, rubbing the back of her head, "A bit.", she said, walking beside him. Besides the street lamps, there wasn't much light around the street.

Kurama smiled a bit, "Were almost there.", he said, "You can go back to sleep when we get there."

Tamaki smiled a bit and nodded. Kurama kept walking...he owed Tamaki so much he couldn't even begin to describe it. She almost threw her own life away for him and his mother. He smiled a bit...since he became human, he had so many new priorities to protect. Protecting his mothers life seemed to be the most important thing...and now he had a new life he wanted to protect as well. He almost blushed when that thought crossed him...he couldn't deny it though, he wanted to protect Tamaki. Thats a normal thing, she did the kindest thing anyone could have done for Kurama. The part that made him embarrassed was...he couldn't tell if it was out of gratitude or just because Tamaki was...Tamaki.

Tamaki looked over at Kurama...he seemed lost in thought. She smiled a bit at him, being able to tell he was pretty happy. She felt good that she was able to save him and his mother. Everything just seemed to work out for the best...he got to live, his mother survived, and now she had someone who would care if she lived or not. It seemed like forever since she felt that there was someone who cared for her. Seven months and a few odd days she figured.

Kurama smiled back at her a bit...the moment didn't last too long before a big wave of energy hit him. Tamaki's eyes widened, "Whats going on?" she asked, feeling the energy. The amount of energy was enormous she almost threw up from it, feeling it tear her insides up.

Kurama recognized the scent, "It's Hiei!" he said. Tamaki looked at him, "But he's stronger!" she said. "He wasn't this strong before."

Kurama nodded, "Then hes transformed.", he said." He must be desperate to be in that form."

Tamaki blinked, "Then the Spirit Detectives are in danger!" she said. "We have to help them." she said, feeling it was their fault Yusuke and Mayu were in this situation to start with.

Kurama nodded, "Right.", he said, "Lets go then." They started running off, Tamaki using her sharp sense to lead them to Hiei's hideout. Botan was still trying to fight off Keiko's transformation, but with the monster within her feeding off the energy Hiei was emitting, it became difficult. Her hands were bloody from the sharp energy cutting at them. Yusuke was still fighting Hiei, but Hiei had the advantage.

..Hiei's skin was green, Tamaki had noticed, with eyes covering his entire body. His powers increased greatly with his unusual transformation. Yusuke was trying his hardest to fight him, but Hiei dodged everyone of his hits. Hiei landed a solid blow and sent Yusuke flying back against the wall.

Tamaki cringed. He didn't stand a chance without some kind of help. She looked over at Kurama, "I'll sneak in and cause a distraction.", she whispered. "You go help Botan stop the girl from transforming."

Kurama blinked, "Are you sure?" he asked. "Hiei isn't someone to take likely."

Tamaki smiled and nodded, "I'll be fine.", she said. "Hiei and I are about equal in speed, but I'm more flexible. I have an advantage over him, thats why he couldn't hit me."

Kurama nodded a bit, agreeing with it for now. Tamaki crept in with Kurama following behind her. Hiei had used red energy rings to bind Yusuke's arms and legs together and making him float in mid air.

Yusuke struggled to break free, .."Well this is new, he said. But maybe you could get me green ones, they'd match a lot better."

Hiei smirked a bit, "A joker to the end, aren't you?" he said. "Perhaps they need to be tighter before you can get serious." Hiei tightened the rings around him, causing Yusuke to fly up higher then smash into the ground hard.

Yusuke struggled to sit up, while Hiei walked over to him. He smirks, "You know, I have a great idea, he said. How bout I give you a choice?"

Yusuke glared at him, "What?!" he asked, not ready to accept any pity from this guy.

Hiei smirked and had the sword float into his hand, "I'm having a change of mind of what I said earlier.", he said. "I can end you're life now...or if you prefer I can turn you into a demon." Yusuke just glared at him...with his hands and feet trapped he couldn't do much to fight him off anymore. Hiei laughed, "Whats that?" he asked. "You want me to chose? Fine!" Hiei lunged at him, about to strike him down.

Tamaki finally decided it was time to make her presence known, "Sorry, but that choice is invalid!" she said, round-house kicking Hiei to the side of his head, causing him to spiral into the wall.

Yusuke blinked, "You?!" he cried in shock. "What are you doing here?!" Tamaki smiled, "I figured you needed a hand.", she said.

Hiei stood back up, glaring over at Tamaki. He looked over to Yusuke, "Sorry Spirit Detective, but it seems your death shall be postponed a bit.", he said. He looked over at Tamaki. "It seems she decided to volunteer to die first."

Tamaki narrowed her eyes, "You can try!" she said, standing in a new stance that Hiei had never seen her do before.

Mayu, who was out up till this point, finally woke up. Where the hell was she? She looked around and saw Yusuke tied up, Hiei green and covered with eyes, and Tamaki who looked like she was about to fight him off. Her first impression was it was just some bad dream..

..And then she looked at Tamaki's stance with wide eyes...she recognized it! Tamaki had learned the Ryun style! How could she had possibly know that style of martial arts. Kurama looked over at her, "What's wrong?" he asked.

Mayu looked at him, "Thats Ryun!" she said. "It's a lost style that hadn't been taught in nearly thousands of years. The original master of it died long before he could pass on the teachings, so no one could have had knowledge of its existence. How on Earth could she know it?"

Kurama blinked a bit, "What is the Ryun style?" he asked. Mayu looked back to Tamaki, "A style of which you need great movement, mobility, and flexibility, she said. Depending how far she learned into it she can either successfully dodge attacks or literally become invisible to the enemy's eyes for attacks...and with her demon energy boosting her, theres no telling how powerful it will be combined."

Kurama almost stared in awe...did Tamaki truly have that much power? He knew she was strong, but he had no idea how strong she really was.

Tamaki slid her foot into position. She counted in her mind...three steps...two steps...one step..., Now! she cried and in an instant Tamaki seemed to vanish. Hiei's eyes widen, where did she go?! Not even his Jagan eye could pick her up! Tamaki reappeared above him, sending her foot straight down into a solid straight kick.

Mayu's eyes could have popped out of her head...that was at least ten times the power and speed she had predicted, "Unbelievable.", she muttered. "She didn't just study the Ryun...she mastered it! And in such power."

Yusuke just grinned widely, "Oh yeah, now thats a good old fashion ass kicking!" he cheered. "Now if you can just get me the hell out of these weird ring things we can pack up and go home!"

Tamaki didn't keep her eyes off were Hiei had landed, "..Too soon to celebrate just yet.", she said. "Hiei's still conscious...those rings would have vanished if he was out."

Hiei's obnoxious laugh filled the room, "Clever Ice girl.", he said, walking out again. He wiped off some blood from his lip. "You caught me. I would have used a surprise attack to catch you off guard...but it seems you wont let your guard down as easily as that fool tied up."

Yusuke glared, "I can still hear you!" he reminded. Tamaki stepped back into her stance, "I admit, I thought that would have finished you.", she said. "Please forgive me for underestimating you. I will not hold back again."

Hiei glared at her, knowing full well she held back about half her normal strength. "You know Tamaki, there are a lot of things I hate.", he said. "But being underestimated pisses me off the most!" He lunged in to attack, slicing away with his sword. Tamaki dodged them, but was given no time to retaliate. One wrong step and Hiei could easily slice off her head. Then Hiei did something unexpected...he flipped the sword to the hilt pointing and threw it directly aiming at Tamaki's face. Tamaki had to step to the side to avoid it, but not being able to predict that was coming her foot stepped in the wrong place.

Kurama's eyes widen...that was a bad move and she knew it. Hiei smirked, "Got you!" he said, using the fumble to create the same rings that had Yusuke around her legs. Tamaki fell, being tripped by the rings. She cringed...that was it. Hiei had her now, and that means she knew she was as good as dead.

Hiei laughed, summoning the sword again. It flew back into his hand again. He looked over at Yusuke with that evil smirk of his. "Whats say I give you another choice, Spirit Detective?" he said. "You can chose which of you will die first. You, or your friend Tamaki who desperately tried to save you."

Yusuke glared, "Bastard!" he yelled, struggling again. "Let the girl go, its between me and you!"

Hiei smirked, "I beg to differ.", he said, pointing the sword against Tamaki's neck. "As far as I'm concerned, traitors should be the first to die." A trickle of blood ran down Tamaki's neck.

Yusuke glared, "Look if you're gonna kill me, then hurry it up!" he yelled. "It'd be a whole lot better listening to you define what you think is morally right! Just cut the crap already!" Mainly he was just trying to buy some time for a plan to form.

Hiei just laughed, "I guess you want me to chose again.", he said. Hiei smirked over at Tamaki. "As much as I wish to kill the Spirit Detective, it is my personal belief that traitors die first."

With that Hiei lifted the sword and thrust it forward towards Tamaki's heart. Yusuke's eyes widened, "No!" he cried. Mayu clenched her teeth...she will get him back for this. Tamaki closed her eyes, waiting for the sword to strike her.

..It went through something, but not her. Tamaki opened her eyes to see Kurama in front of her, the sword through his stomach. An impulsive decision made Kurama jump in front of the swords way. Tamaki's eyes widen. "Kurama!" she cried. Hiei was shocked, since he had no idea he was here as well, "You really have gone insane!" he yelled.

Kurama smirked, sliding his hand across the blade, cutting his hand. He then used the newly flowing blood to blind Hiei's Jagan eye. Hiei fell back, blinded and the energy rings disappeared from Yusuke and Tamaki.

Yusuke blinked, "Hey we've come untied.", he said as if it wasn't obvious. Kurama nodded, "The eyes on Hiei's body are merely for amplification." he said. "Without the Jagan eye exposed on his forehead, his powers become useless." Kurama clutched his wound. Tamaki ran over to him, freed from Hiei's trap. "Are you alright?!" she asked, worried. Demon powers or not, Kurama was still human in that form.

Mayu glared over at them, "What the hell did I just get through telling you?!" she yelled. "Sacrificing yourself doesn't give you any redemption!"

Kurama blinked, "It isn't a sacrifice.", he said. "The wound isn't fatal...just a minor whole in my stomach." That confused him though...Hiei never intended it to be fatal. He didn't understand why though.

Thats beside the point! Mayu yelled back. Kurama sighed, "Would you have rather Spirit Worlds last hope chopped to pieces?" he asked. Mayu sweat dropped, ... she had nothing. Tamaki sighed a bit in relief, glad Kurama was okay.

Yusuke rolled his eyes, "Back to the topic at hand!" he said. He looked over at Kurama, "Why did you do it?" he asked.

Kurama smiled a bit, "Well my mother is alive because of you.", he said. "And I'm alive because of Tamaki, so it was the least I could do." Tamaki blinked...she couldn't decide if she should feel flattered, or bop him on the head for doing something so reckless. She smiled a bit though.

Kurama smiled over at them, "Yusuke, you must handle Hiei.", he said. "Ill use my powers to keep the girl from transforming." Tamaki blinked, "You have a whole gaping through your stomach, remember?" she said. "Ill help the girl, you need to recover."

Yusuke nodded in agreement, and Tamaki and Kurama went over to help Botan. Hiei stood back up again, rubbing out his eye. "Kurama how could you?!" he yelled. "Traitor!"

Yusuke started glowing bright red, his energy increasing ten fold, "Take your problems up with me!" he yelled.

Hiei stared at him...the more dangerous the situation becomes, the more powerful Yusuke becomes. It was his only conclusion to him still having this much energy left. He couldn't let the battle continue much longer, he leaped up and began attacking him. It was all hand-to-hand combat from then on, seeing who could take more pain. Hiei saw an opening and hit Yusuke head on, sending him flying back against the wall.

Yusuke staggered up...something twinkled in the corner. His eyes widen, thats it! He knew how to beat up. He ran to the side.

Hiei laughed, "How sad.", he said. "After all this, you actually believe you can run away from me." He ran in, getting ready to deliver the final blow, but Yusuke then aimed and fired his Spirit Gun.  
Hiei's eyes widen and quickly dodged it. Hiei smirked, "My, what a well kept secret, he said. Too bad all your energy was wasted on poor aim."

Yusuke flinched and fell to his knee...it was up to luck now. Hiei smirked...but suddenly the Spirit Gun blast came back and hit Hiei from behind.

Hiei fell over from it, "What...happened?" he asked. Yusuke smirked, "Simple...I won." he answered.

Hiei looked behind him, But how he asked. And thats when he saw the shattered Forlorn Hope. His eyes widen. "You...reflected the shot. You must have guessed exactly how I would dodge your attack."

Yusuke smirked and nodded, "Guess thats what you call Watching your opponent." he said.

Hiei smirked, "You're...pretty clever.", he said before he blacked out. Mayu smiled, "Nice work Detective!" she said.

Yusuke smiled and grabbed the sword. He ran over to Botan, Keiko, Tamaki and Kurama. He took the hilt of the sword off and dripped the potion into Keiko's mouth. The eye on her forehead disappeared. "Ha, goodbye Keiko monster!" Yusuke said, happy she was okay.

Botan looked over at Yusuke," I still can't believe you did that.", she said. "Why didn't you tell me the Spirit Gun bounced off mirrors, when did you learn that?"

Yusuke smiled confidently, "Um, about ten minutes ago!" he said. Mayu's eyes widen, "What?!"

Yusuke blinked, "Well Hiei was way too fast, I knew he could dodge the Spirit Gun unless I shot him from behind.", he said. "Thats when I spotted the Forlorn Hope in the corner and I thought 'Hey, Ill give it a try'."

Kurama and Tamaki's eyes widened, "You weren't certain?!" they asked in shock in unison.

Yusuke smiled and rubbed the back of his head, "Well one time in Science class they bounced light off a mirror and I thought it might be the same thing.", he said.

"Might?!" Botan yelled. "You risked our lives on a might! What would have you done if the Spirit Gun DIDN'T bounce of mirrors?!"

Yusuke shrugged, "Get chopped up into pieces I guess.", he said. Botan cringed and Kurama and Tamaki started laughing.

"All this while, we've been thinking you were a brilliant strategist. Really you're just a lucky fool." Kurama said, joking. Tamaki laughed harder.

Yusuke glared, "Hey watch it Fox Boy!' he said. "Whats that word mean anyways?"

Tamaki giggled, "A strategist is someone who uses their brain.", she joked, still laughing. Yusuke glared, "You too Ice Princess?!" he shot back, but couldn't help laughing at it.

Botan and Mayu both laughed too, "Now now you guys.", Botan said. "Well we did it, the artifacts are safe."

Mayu smiled and nodded, "Ill go with Botan to Spirit World to help put Hiei in custody." she said, heading over to help Botan lift up Hiei. Good thing he was so small.

Yusuke blinked, "Hey, you guys aren't gonna book these two are you?" he asked, pointing over to Tamaki and Kurama.

Botan sighed a bit, "Well they wont be arrested if thats what you mean.", she said. "But considering the huge risk this was, they will probably face some kind of punishment."

Yusuke stood up, "Hey, thats not fair!" he said." If they hadn't come here, I'd be six feet under by now!"

Mayu smiled, "Relax,." she said. "It probably wont be anything to sever. Maybe just some community service or something."

Yusuke blinked, "Demons have community service?" he asked. Tamaki giggled a bit. Yusuke picked up Keiko, "I'm going to take her home. See you later."

Tamaki and Kurama smiled and waved goodbye. Botan and Mayu went through a portal to Spirit World, carrying Hiei and the artifacts.

Kurama smiled at Tamaki, "Lets go home.", he said. Tamaki smiled and nodded. "Maybe we should go to my apartment so we can heal your wound.", she suggested. "Kokoda might be a bit concerned if you showed up with a hole through your stomach."

Kurama smiled a bit and nodded, "Good idea.", he said, standing up a bit. Tamaki quickly helped him keep his balance.

Tamaki looked at him a bit, "Are you feeling okay?" she asked. "You really didn't have to do that."

Kurama smiled, "I feel fine. I avoided the organs at least.", he said. "And I know I didn't have to...but that didn't mean I didn't want to."

Tamaki smiled a bit and they headed off.


	10. Chapter 10

"I was...really useless this time, wasn't I?" asked Mayu in a low melancholic tone, looking up to watch the back of Botan's head move ahead of her, carefully caring the vertically challenged Criminal through the halls of the Spirit World fortress. The swaying of the blue hair was all she could bear to look at after that report. Botan froze a bit.

"Erm..well..if you hadn't given Yusuke the energy, we probably would have lost." said Botan, clutching her oar and looking back at Mayu over her shoulder. Mayu looked down, not feeling like looking her in the face.

"Maybe...but it was foolish for me to fall asleep in a public place during a hostage situation." she said, "..And I didn't even really thank Kurama, or Tamaki, all I was able to do was yell."

"You can always apologize, dear, why are you so sad?" asked Botan, falling back to help out her friend. Mayu cringed.

"Lately it's been..." she started, trying to find the words, "Harder for me to fit in?" she offered, "It's been..touch and go. I never had things like this I couldn't grasp before. And...I feel so...weak. Everyone around me is swirling in power and techniques that I couldn't even hope to grasp. I've trained every day for months, and I still am so far behind in everything."

"Oh, I see..its hard to go from the top of the class to the assistant, huh?" asked Botan, joking a little and not taking Mayu seriously for the moment.

"Extremely." she said, looking at Hiei, "...He just grabbed me in my sleep, I was always taught to be self aware and on guard, and he just-"

"You are a deep sleeper, and you were extremely worn out." said Botan, trying to keep it from progressing. Mayu shook her head.

"It's even more then that. I have lost every fight against a non-human sense I started leaving the Dojo. If I can't protect my home...god knows, with Demon blood I'm not even fit to be married off...I'd become useless. I have to work harder!" said Mayu, wishing she could throw something to the ground, but not wanting to use Hiei. As serious as she knew she was being, Botan couldn't help but giggle.

"I can't see you allowing yourself to be 'married off'" said Botan, still giggling. Mayu shrugged.

"I am probably to big to get married on my own, I am taller then a lot of guys at home." she said, brushing it off. At this stage in her life, it didn't matter either way to her...of course it mattered somewhat, but she had to be a little passive about the idea. She paused, looking at Hiei. He was so small, he was easy to carry almost like a young child.

"..Though, I guess I can't complain, it must be even more embarrassing to be short." she said, she began to smirk, "I bet this one isn't allowed to do anything 18 and up, to humans!"

"He probably doesn't care what he's allowed to do, obviously." said Botan, rubbing her head, glad to get a small joke out of her. Mayu nodded, but sighed again.

"I am still lacking in confidence in myself, at the moment." she said, trying to get Botan to understand. Botan nodded.

"Mayu, you will continue to get stronger, I am sure you have some sort of potential or ace up your sleeve that no one was even heard of yet! Or something!" she said, posing slightly. Mayu smiled.

"Stuff like that doesn't really happen. If I am to get stronger, I have to work, and thats what I plan on.." she said softly, looking down, "...Maybe I should give up the assignment of Co-Spirit Detective, until I am able to realize that..."

"Impossible! There is no one to take your place!" she said, stopping in the hallway with shock, and looking at her with wide eyes, not going to allow such talk.

"After her community service, Tamaki could make a worthwhile replacement. After all, that Ryun style.." she said almost going into a sort of sugar shock at remembering the use of it, "..Oh I am so envious. To be able to master that...."

"People are going to take that the wrong way, Mayu..." alerted Botan.

"Is there a wrong way to take that? I was merely admiring her skill.." said Mayu, sighing again, "She's so small and petite, thats why moves of speed and flexibility come so well to her."

"Are you really this depressed because you are tall?!" said Botan, gasping into a fit of giggles, realizing almost all of this was coming back to that.

"Of course not!" said Mayu, defensively, "I was just saying..oh, never mind, I am glad I can be honest with you but you seem to prefer to tease me then to give me any advice!" she said, going on ahead. Botan kept giggling, but followed her quickly in remorse.

"Aw, I am just kidding don't be so sensitive Mayu!" she giggled, floating on her oar to her side.

"Whatever!" said Mayu, getting more irritated at her so called 'attempts' at obtaining forgiveness. Botan smiled.

"You'll be just fine, with all that drive. You'll be perfectly fine." she said, seriously. Mayu finally seemed to come out of her irritation at that.

"Thank you, thats just...what I needed to hear." she said, smiling softly and looking forward, then down at the bundle of awkward demon in her arms.

"He's a fire demon, perhaps...no, absurd, he's too busy kidnapping people." she said, handing him over to Botan, who took him unwillingly, not wanting to do the heavy lifting. Botan put him on her oar, "Lets just get him to Koenma and go home."

"Right." said Mayu, a business like nod punctuating the sentence as they went onward.

"And don't say you want to be replaced, you'll just get even more depressed if that were to happen and you know it!" said Botan, smacking her on the back and almost making her trip, "You're. Doing. Great."

"..Thanks, but you didn't have to hit me..." she said, pulling in the sleeping criminal closer to steady herself, and relaxing her tensions for now.

Yusuke carried Keiko on his back, forcing her comatose arms around his neck and holding her by the legs, keeping her steady as though she were a human sized box of carefully stacked china plates. Not that he had much respect for china, or people that used it, he simply was being that careful. She had yet to awaken, but today had been such a terribly scary experience for him.

All of his friends, except for that thing he called a Kuwabara, were pinned and depending on him. And he nearly lost. Dumb luck, he had a ton of it and he held a whole lot of pride in that, but he still knew it was dumb luck.

He didn't want anyone to get hurt because of him, he was going to protect everyone even if they didn't want him too. If he was going to do this Spirit detective gig, he was going to do it right. He had the world on his shoulders, fine. He sure as hell wasn't going to make a mistake and spend all eternity listening to Koenma bitch at him for it.

Or, he wasn't going to live and deal with losing someone on his behalf either. Consciouses were bitches. Loud ones.

Yusuke kept walking and looked at the lights. It was so late, it had to be like, one in the morning by now. His mom was going to be pissed as hell, and Keiko's parents where going to be even more pissed because HE had brought her home so late. That wouldn't look good.

'Hi, I had your Daughter out till one on a school night, but we didn't do anything, We're just friends, and she had gotten kidnapped by demons'

That was totally going to work.

He sighed and chucked Keiko higher up on his shoulders, his back getting tired. He was surprised he hadn't passed out, the adrenaline really gave him a boost. He looked into the starry sky, and it moved Keiko's head into an awkward position where she was breathing on his neck, sending shivers up his spines.

"Yusuke.." he heard her slumbering voice whisper. He grip tightened, wondering what she was dreaming about suddenly.

"You're such.....and idiot..." she muttered. Yusuke almost tripped in shock. Even in her sleep, she was ripping on him! He bet her next part of her dream was going to make her say 'If you skip school again, I'll break your neck!'

"Thank you." is what he really heard. And the pride went straight back into his head. He lowered his head to concentrate on lugging the light, but getting heavy load to her home slash restaurant. He was just a couple of blocks away.

"Yeah, I know Keiko, you just stay on asleep." he said, jokingly replying to her. Keiko moved.

"I'm not asleep..." she said softly, causing Yusuke to nearly jump out of his skin, and almost drop her at that.

"Wh-WHAT?!" yelled Yusuke, turning his head nearly 180 degrees to look her in the face.

"Sorry for the trouble, but what happened? All I remember was passing out." she said, dead serious and completely awake, staring him in the face. Yusuke cringed.

"That's it, that's all, I passed you and you were knocked out on the street!" said Yusuke in a rushed and hurried voice, trying to make sure she had an excuse as quickly as possible.

"Oh....why weren't you at school!?" she asked, suddenly getting angry and separating her head from his neck, keeping on by gasping his shoulders. Yusuke glared at her.

"It's none of your business!" he said, out of instinct, "If you have enough energy to yell at me, you have enough to walk!"

"Who said I needed you to carry me, anyway!" said Keiko, her eyes flashing over with independence and jumping down from his back with no warning. Yusuke stumbled but stood up, crossing his arms and lowering his eyes.

"Whatever." he said, looking away out of irritation. He saved her life, think she'd be a little more gentle! Or something. Keiko scanned her surroundings and noticed how close she was to her house..and how far she had been when she passed out, not remembering a thing about the demons.

"....Did you really carry me all this way?" she asked, in a soft rueful voice. Yusuke sighed.

"It's not a big deal, you're not all that heavy or anything." he said, not wanting her sympathy now, "I couldn't just leave you lying..there.." he said, looking down to his shoes.

Keiko blushed and looked down, tightened her hands out of habit before realizing there was something missing, "My school bag! My school bag, where is it!" she asked, Yusuke blinked and presented it to her.

"Do you really think I'd let you lose this? That'd be saving you just to watch you die." he said, laughing, as Keiko snatched it from him and hugged the bag out of pure thankfulness.

"Thanks Yusuke, I really owe you a huge favor for this." she said, putting her hot forehead into the cool material.

Yusuke just shrugged it off and smirked, "I can think of a few good paybacks....for starters, don't turn my name into the attendance office!"

"What?! No way am I doing something like that, do you know how much trouble I would get!" she asked, slamming her foot into the concrete and yelling at him. Yusuke laughed at her animation.

"It was a joke, you don't need to pay me back. I really didn't do anything that any half decent human being wouldn't have done." said Yusuke, looking at the restaurant and stopping in front of it, "But, if you can do me any sort of favor, don't tell your rents you were with me. They'll not be so fond of me if you do."

Keiko looked down and bit her lip, she didn't relish the idea of lying to her parents. But that made a whole lot of sense for both their sakes, "Okay, thank you, I'll tell them someone else brought me home." she said, standing at the entrance. Yusuke watched her for a moment, not sure how to say bye.

"See you at school tomorrow, iffin I feel like it." he said, in a fake dialect in an attempt to make her laugh. Keiko smiled.

"See you tomorrow, Yusuke." she said, turning and going into the house. Yusuke face palmed. It was a pain in the ass to hide the truth from her, but he knew it was for the best. He just had to make sure she didn't always end up as the kidnapped chick you always see in this sort of situation.

He hoped to God she wasn't.

"Okay, take your shirt off." said Tamaki with a strict serious face as she came in with a first aid box, taking Kurama back quickly.

"What?" he asked, dryly, knowing she didn't mean to make it sound so wrong and out of the blue. Tamaki giggled, unable to keep the straight face as well.

"I'm really sorry, really I am, but I need to clean out that wound and I need to do it right now." she said, turning a bit pink that she let it sound so bad. She took out a bottle of peroxide and some gauze pads, preparing everything. Kurama put a hand to his forehead.

"Sorry, I should have realized it, it's half ripped off anyway." he said, taking his top off and trying not to imagine the horrible cold and stinging about to come his way, "You are trained with this?"

"A little.." she said, her mother having shown her a few basic ways to use a First Aid Kit. Cleaning and wrapping being it. Luckily, just what she needed to do for now, since apparently this gaping injury wasn't that bad for a demon. She soaked a gauze pad with the peroxide and carefully placed it to the wound, wincing for him. Kurama hissed back a bit.

"S-Sorry, I didn't expect it to be that...dirty.." he said, having always heard it hurts more the dirtier the would. Tamaki shook her head, "You're doing fine, just stay still." she said, patting it again. Kurama bit his lower lip and stayed still, grabbing the light carpeting on the floor.

"It's really deep..." said Tamaki, her worried only rising and she cleaned it, she thought she could see bone. She shouldn't have lost her footing like that...it was silly, but she felt guilty. She didn't want Kurama to have gotten this hurt over her, but it really was for the best in the end. Of course, she could have succeeded on her own, but if she had to trip it was good Kurama took the blow and it didn't hurt him any worse, "I think I see bone..but it's healing quick."

That was an understatement, she could literally see flesh regrowing over the would at a slow pace. It was a disgusting sight, but she knew she had to finish the job and she kept down her lunch. Kurama sighed.

"I feel it, but the healing itself hurts as well..its a very odd feeling." he said, finally getting used to the light sting of the peroxide.

"I figure." she said, sympathetically with a small smile.

When Tamaki was finished cleaning it out, she took the bandages and rolled them out, reaching out to Kurama and beginning to wrap them around his torso, careful not to touch him unnecessarily and make him mood. Kurama was trying not to relax and make it more difficult, now that the hard part was over.

"Thank you for that." he said in relief, when she bit off the bandage. Tamaki shook her head, once more.

"It's really nothing, someone had to do it." she said with a smile, "Does it still hurt?"

"I'd be lying if I said it didn't, but it does feel a whole lot better know that its clean and contained..." he said, standing up and laying on her couch, "We should..rest for a moment before heading home. Do you think Kokoda and his father realized I am gone?" he asked, hoping he wouldn't have to try and explain.

"They probably are still at the hospital with your mom..." thought Tamaki, out loud, trying to keep him from getting stressed, "I'll get you a blanket and we'll get home first thing in the morning, okay?"

Kurama nodded and took a throw pillow under his head, hating to be a bother but knowing he needed the recovery. This was going to be a night.

Tamaki threw the blanket gently over Kurama's body and sat at the very end of the couch at his feet, "Need anything else?" she asked. Kurama shook his head.

"I've been enough trouble, really. What I've done is repayment for the hospital, you don't have to do everything," said Kurama, smiling. She really was kind. Tamaki rubbed her head.

"'Just because I don't have to doesn't mean I don't want too', remember?" she asked, unable to not quote him on that. Kurama laughed.

"Okay, okay, you have a point." he said, laughing emptily seeing he had completely lost the round. He squirmed around to find a more comfortable position, wincing when he put pressure on the wound, "Good night."

"Good night." Said Tamaki, gently, standing up and flipping off the lights across the room and heading to her bedroom, leaving Kurama to contemplate. He sat there in complete darkness, trying to think about anything that had happened today but the pain. Everything had happened all at once....it was so late, it was ridiculous, and he had half a mind to miss school tomorrow. It would make sense, his wound would get him excused in an instant. But they would call his mother, and that would be an entirely different issue.

Plus, there was the whole explaining why he and Tamaki was out all night, if Kokoda and his step father to be realized it.

This was going to be a hard morning. And knowing that just made the sleep even more difficult. But Tamaki would help him through the whole thing, wouldn't she?

Yes...she was very kind, it was getting to him more everyday. Up until recently he had been very selfish and reckless himself, so the fact he was meeting someone who was kind and that it was their very NATURE to be kind..it astonished him deeply.

He would repay her, more then merely taking a sword. He would pay her back for all of this unnecessary kindness one way or another.


	11. Chapter 11

Koenma's punishment for Hiei was simple enough, getting thrown into Spirit World prison for a short period of time and then put him on probation in the human world. Mayu could of guessed that...but what she didn't guess was Koenma would actually put HER on guard duty for Hiei.

Mayu sighed...what a pain. Koenma had told her that she was bound to be the best choice of guard, since she was more powerful than most of his guards that were actually willing to guard him.

Mayu just sat across from Hiei's cell against the wall, keeping her eyes on him. Hiei had woken up not too long after he was thrown in the jail cell, which was at this point three hours ago. Mayu had been there as long as he was, except for the fact that she could easily be switched off when she got tired.

Mayu looked over at Hiei's food tray...he hadn't touched it yet. "You're going to need to eat soon." she said.

Hiei didn't even bother to look over at her, "..Spare me.", he said, not in the mood to be told what he needed. In truth he was hungry, but he'd rather starve in that cell then eat the little prisoner food Spirit World gave him. It'd hurt his pride too much.

Mayu sighed and looked over at the wall, "Moping around because your plan didn't work doesn't suit you Hiei. And it isn't going to change the fact that you lost.", she said. She chuckled darkly, "Then again, who am I to talk? You kidnapped me and I didn't even know it until half way through the battle."  
Hiei smirked a bit, feeling a bit better after hearing that. Though he wouldn't admit it. Mayu chuckled again, knowing that'd make him feel less pathetic. She looked at Hiei, "Hey, I do have one question for you though." she said.

Hiei looked back, "What.", he said bluntly. He really wasn't in the mood for interrogations.

Mayu sat up a bit, "Why did you spare Tamaki's" life? she asked.

Hiei rolled his eyes, "What are you talking about?" he said. "If Kurama hadn't gotten in the way, she would have been dead."

"No she wouldn't.", Mayu interjected. "You missed the vitals on purpose. Kurama's wound would have been more serious if you hadn't. You missed on purpose..you were going to spare her life. Why?"

Hiei scoffed, "Hn, my hand must have slipped.", he said. "Rest assured, if given the chance Tamaki would have been dead." He rolled over on his side so his back. "I'm not in the mood to answer foolish questions, so if you don't have anything relevant to say, keep it quiet."

Mayu blinked, "You're lying, I can tell.", she said. She giggled a bit. "Oh I get it...you must have feelings for Tamaki!"

Hiei just rolled his eyes, not going to respond how utterly stupid that sounded, "..Believe what you want, I don't really care." he said. He'd rather have her believe that then the actual truth.

Mayu sighed...nope, that wasn't it. If he did have feelings for Tamaki, he would have shot up and started yelling at her on how stupid that was. But he...did feel something for Tamaki. He had to if he was willing to let her live. Was it friendship? They didn't SEEM all that close from the way they were beating the hell out of each other. It just confused her.

Her Communication mirror went off. Mayu blinked and took it out from her pocket. "Mayu speaking, whats up?" she said.

Botan appeared on her screen, "Hey, we have a new case for you and Yusuke!" she said, bubbly as ever. "Hows are captive?"

"Miserable as ever.", Mayu replied with a sigh. "Hes about as fun to talk with as a pile of bricks." Hiei glared, "I can still hear you!" he said.

Botan giggled, "Well this ought to cheer you up!" she said. "You'll be visiting Master Genkai's temple for this next case."

Mayu smiled, "Master Genkai's! Really?" she asked happily, like a child going to their favorite toy store. Genkai had been Mayu's teacher along with the trainers at the Dojo for sometime now. Shed come by every week or so to help out.

Botan smiled and nodded, "Yes, but this mission is very big, she said, seriously. You of all people should know about Master Genkai's Spirit Wave."

Mayu nodded, "What about it?" she asked. Botan smiled, "Well she is hosting a mini-tournament to find the successor for it.", she said. "As a Fire Apparition, its impossible for you to use it. But it isn't for Yusuke."

Mayu nodded, "I get it.", she said. "Koenma would rather have Yusuke know it than some other spiritually aware human. Just in case they turn out evil."

Botan shook her head, "No the danger is much greater than that.", she said. "If our intelligence is correct, the demon Rando may be after her Spirit Wave."

Mayu blinked, "The Physic killer Rando?" she asked. Botan nodded. Mayu knew of Rando's ability. He could copy any technique and make it his own. So far he has killed at least ninety-nine physics and obtained ninety-nine of their techniques. He probably plans to make Genkai his hundredth.

Mayu nodded, "Understood.", she said. "Whats my job for this case then?"

"You will be posing undercover as one of Master Genkai's assistants." Botan replied. "While Yusuke enters in the tournament, you'll be sent there. If Rando appears, you fight along with Yusuke to stop him."

Mayu nodded, "Alright, I'll head over there right now.", she said. She hung up and stood up, about to go.

"..Why do you listen to these fools?" Hiei asked. "Why do you choose to be a Blood Traitor?"

Mayu looked at him, "I do what I do to get by and nothing else.", she said. "It's just easier to help the humans out." With that she walked away.

Botan went over to Yusuke's school to explain his mission. Yusuke blinked, "Wait, infiltration?" he asked during Botan's explanation.

Botan smiled and nodded, "Yes, thats a fancy term for going undercover.", she said with a giggle.

Yusuke sighed, "Right right.", he said, "So where am I going? Spirit World?" he asked.

Botan shook her head, "Oh no, you'll be staying here on Earth of course.", she said. "An old human acquaintance of Koenma's is looking for an apprentice to teach her powers to. That will be you."

Yusuke sighed, "Sounds boring.", he said, feeling like he's faced more than that. "So who's the nice old lady?"

Botan giggled, "Be careful what you call her.", she said. "Her name is Genkai and she is one of the greatest physics in the world. Its been a long time since shes had an apprentice, but I guess she feels her end is drawing near." Botan looked up a bit, "Most times people want to leave something behind, and for her its her secret power. There are so many people who want that power. Depending on who has it, it could save or destroy thousands of people. Thats what Koenma told me."

Yusuke blinked, "So you want me to learn the lady's power instead of some other guy who might use them incorrectly.", he said. "Is that it?"

Botan smiled, "Yes, thats it Yusuke, but I still have a lot more to tell you.", she said. "I must tell you how dangerous this mission is going to be. Spirit World intelligence has informed me that an Apparition by the name of Rando will most defiantly being going after Genkai's technique."

Yusuke blinked, "Rando?" he asked. Botan than explained to him basically the information she relayed to Mayu.

Yusuke looked over at the roof, "A Physic killer huh?" he said. Botan nodded, "And a human hunter too, she said. When Rando steals a technique, he manipulates it into his own style and then uses it on humans to test his new strength. Rando kills until he finds the limit of his power, and with Genkai's technique, that could be a very long time."

Yusuke nodded, "Hmm...all this seems like a pretty major crises for mankind.", Yusuke said.

Botan smiled, "So lets go!" she said happily.

Yusuke sighed, "But on the other hand, it means I wont be able to do anything relaxing on this three day weekend.", he said, really had looking forward to that.

Botan fell over at that. "Mankind or Vacation?!" she yelled at him.

Yusuke glared, "Well they got the same importance to me, okay?!" he yelled back.

Botan sighed, "..time for drastic measures." She walked over to the side of the roof, "Alright Yusuke, perhaps I forgot to tell you theres a super special bonus for completing this mission.", she said. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a ticket. "Your very own ticket to the main event for the World Battle match at the Tokyo Dome!"

Yusuke's eyes widened as he shot up for that, "WHOA!" he cried happily. He smiled excitedly, "Well don't just stand there! Lets go!" He basically ran off the roof top. Botan smiled slyly...shed knew that get him. It was up to him and Mayu now for the rest. She just hoped they could handle this.

Kurama woke up the next morning...well shot up was more like it. He had a creepy nightmare. One of those nightmares were you know whats about to happen and you feel like you can stop it, but you don't know how, so you're just forced to watch it.

..And it was just horrible to watch. A man and a woman just sitting in their home, doing nothing of consequence. The man was just reading a book, the woman looked like she was making some kind of after-school-snack for a child when they came home. They seemed happy to be where they were.

And out of nowhere, without any warning or remorse, a demon crashes in. A crafty demon, no less, since it got through the barrier. The man is startled, but not horrified. Just angry, like he was use to seeing demons like it. He quickly begins to fight the demon. But he misreads his strength. The demon was much stronger than it appeared, and very large and kills the man instantly.

The woman runs in, looking down at the slain man in horror. The demon just laughed, obviously enjoying the kill. The demon begins attacking the woman, but she now knew the demons real strength and was able to fight it off better than the man did.

But the front door opened and a figure stood in it. Kurama couldn't see the persons face, but from what he could tell it was a girl not much younger than him. And that she was terrified, seeing the slain man and the demon who murdered him.

The woman said something. Kurama couldn't make out what, but it seemed like she was telling her to stay back. The demon took this moment when she was distracted, and grabbed the woman, lifting her to the air.

The girl yelled something, probably at the demon to let the woman go. She charged and tried to fight the demon, but the demon was too fast. He clawed the girls back and she fell to the ground.

Her back was bleeding badly, but the girl was strong and remained conscious. But she was in too much pain to move anymore, she couldn't fight the demon off. All she could do was watch the demon kill the woman. The girl screamed, and that was the last thing he saw before Kurama woke up.

..He didn't want to believe it...but that voice sounded so much like Tamaki. The only time he heard the girls voice was when she screamed, but it did sound like her.

The faces of the man and woman were also familiar. But he couldn't be sure. He looked over to the table were the face-down picture of her and her human parents was. Part of him wanted to know if it was them...but another was scared to find out. That horrible slaughter was still burned into his mind. He went over to the table and picked up the picture.

It was them. The man and the woman. They were a little younger than from the dream, which meant it was taken a few years ago. But it was defiantly them.

So then...was the dream really a dream? Or was it a vision from the past? Tamaki's past. It made sense though, all of it did. Why her parents were dead. What had killed them. How she got that horrible scar on her back. It all did add up.

But at the same time it just made more questions. Who was that demon? Why did it attack them? How did Tamaki survive it?

And the scariest questions that Kurama didn't want to know the answers to...where was it now? And will it come back for her again?


	12. Chapter 12

Mayu leaned over the broom she was giving, sleepily, trying to understand why she was required to go off immediately while Yusuke was given a day to prepare. She wasn't tired, her extended nap in the battle scene has sought to fix that, but she was so ridiculously bored it was impossible. Genkai sighed and shook her head.

"I never thought I'd see you dressed like that again. Then again, I never thought I'd see you grown up." she said, disapproving the requirements of the mission, "If you really have to pose as my worker, however, actually use that broom instead of napping on it.

Mayu tensed up, having been caught on the rare occasion of slacking off and straightened her back and began to sweep, "It's nice to see you too, Master Genkai." she said, robotized as she tried to keep her focus steady.

"Make this place presentable, the candidates should be filing in soon enough." she said, a small smile showing and patting her on the back, before going inside to rest. Mayu kept up her rhythmic cleaning and began to sweep it into the dirt area around the home, trying to return the dirt whence it came.

She almost wanted to go back on guard duty. But it was a happy occasion, she missed Genkai dearly. Once a week simply wasn't enough, and it'd be a great honor to go and see her successor. Not to mention it had been forever since she had come to the temple, instead of the in Dojo lessons she was occasionally receiving.

She watched as people started trudging up the mountain and put the finishing touches on her sweeping, leaning against the wall before realizing how improper it looked and ran inside to do some internal chores until Yusuke arrived. She tried to see it as a test of patience, but cleaning was never her forte. She peaked out the window as Genkai looked over the crowds of people, still hidden in the shadows of the door way. She could tell Genkai was disappointed with the turn out.

Not one of them was good enough.

"If only you weren't a Fire Apparition, Mayu...you'd honestly be one of my first choices. Instead of half of these spirit energy lacking dim wits." said Genkai with a sigh. Mayu wasn't sure if she was honestly meaning it or just saying it to make her feel better, but knowing Genkai (and she, out of pride, hoped) it was the former.

"Thank you, Master Genkai." she said softly, turning pink and dipping a rag into cleaning solution, running it systematically across the floor frontwards and backwards. Genkai paused.

"You missed a spot near the oven." she said. Mayu sweat dropped and ran towards it.

"I'll get that right away!" she said. This activity had a little bit more energy involved, she hoped it lasted a little while. Genkai nodded.

"You got it, after that do some dishes." she said, stepping through the door when the cut off time for people to arrive. Mayu cringed. She REALLY wanted it to last.

Yusuke struggled through the crowds with his bag slung over his shoulder, trying to get up front to get a better view of the 'old lady' Botan told him about. He wanted to get those tickets, damn it! And if he got this chicks power, it would be a hand bag of useful he..guessed...he didn't really know what he thought about it. But if someone other then him absolutely couldn't get it, then it was probably really bad ass.

He was going to have a fun time using it on Kuwabara. And as though that mere thought summoned him, he bumped into something tall, stupid, and red headed.

"Oomph!" said the tall figure said, moving back the three inches the massive crowd allowed before looking down at the object of his troubles, "WHAT?! Urameshi!?"

"Kuwabara!? What the hell are you doing here!?" he asked, loudly and annoyed, not wanting to have to deal with him today. Kuwabara shot a cold look down to him and stood in the closest thing to a fighting stance he could muscle up in this crowd.

"I came to talk to that old lady! I figured if she has all this great power that all these people come here, she'll be able to get rid of my tickle feelin'!" said Kuwabara, patting himself on the chest and trying to figure out what Yusuke wanted. He gave up, "What are you doin' here, Urameshi?!"

Yusuke blinked and quickly realized he meant his spiritual awareness and whatever, "I came here to learn her special technique too!' he said, crossing his arms. And to score some choice tickets...he thought to himself with a prideful smirk.

Kuwabara blinked and sighed, "Whatever, I dunno how she is gonna teach or do whatever to all of these people, but it better be my turn quick!" he said, holding his fist up in an impatient gesture.

"We're competing." said Yusuke, face palming that Kuwabara came around without even knowing that much, "Only one of us is going to get trained, stupid." Kuwabara growled.

"Don't call me stupid, stupid! I knew that I only said otherwise to..test you!" he said, throwing his body weight forward, and waving his arms to make it 'believable'. It worked in his head.

"Sure, numbnuts. Sure." Yusuke said crossing his arms, "Oh well, I've kicked your ass before. If we end up fighting it's one less thing I have to worry about." Kuwabara continued to get angry.

"Don't brush your greatest rival like he's nothing!" he yelled. Yusuke ignored him and looked at his demon compass..it was going nuts. Damn, whoever that Rando bastard was he was too powerful to be traced. That, or, he was messing up the compass on purpose. He knew he was expected. He pocketed the useless device and realized everyone around him was shushing, that Genkai had been standing in front of them ready to make her announcements.

There was a large yellow pot at her side, filled with packets. And she had a dead plastered look on her obviously old face, that was framed with pink hair. She was also very short..must be that bone shrinking thing chicks get when they were older. Yusuke crossed his arms and began to listen.

"Okay, numskulls listen up." said Genkai, immediately, "You, hopefully, know why you are here. Encase some idiot just decided to follow the crowd, this is how its going to go down." she paused for a moment, watching some of the faces of humans drain in color, "You will be competing to become my successor. And the first round starts now. Come and get a slip of paper, and don't open it till I say."

A few voices cried to each other in outrage as they realized what was going on..this was a lottery! Kuwabara was one of them, "How can she leave something like that to chance?" Genkai sighed.

"If you can't make the paper red, then you don't have the necessary skill." she said, cryptically, and everyone one by one came in. Some tried to look through the paper to see if there was some sort of marking, but, defeated, they grabbed the first they saw. Kuwabara grabbed it and sighed, Yusuke was just relieved.

'If I don't get a marked one, then I simply get to go back to vacation and Botan can't do a thing to complain about it. She'll still have to give me the tickets, too.' He thought pleasantly. Genkai nodded as the last of the slips were taken.

"Okay. Open them now." she said. Yusuke opened his paper, praying it wasn't marked.

And, there it was, a large red dot. A pimple on the face of his excuse to get back home. He looked over to Kuwabara, thinking that he would get a booby prize in the form of Kuwabara getting sent home and not having to deal with him at least. Unfortunately, he drew bad again.

Two large men jumped the stage, "This is some sort of mistake! We are two of the strongest men in all of Japan, and yet we can't compete! What kind of contest is this?" they asked, their over muscled faces burning in rage. Genkai looked down.

"If you couldn't turn the paper red, then you can't learn my techniques. I'm afraid muscle mass means nothing here." she said, preparing herself for them to charge at her. They growled.

"We'll defeat you right now, and make you train us you dumb fraud!" they said, reaching down to chuck the short woman into the crowd, but before they could even lay a finger on her they were thrown in the crowd. Genkai looked up, already a bit tired for showing off.

"Does anyone else want to try that?!" she asked, like a student scolding her students. Everyone gave soft whispers and glared at the morons who tried. Genkai put her hand to her face, "Everyone who got a red paper, please come forward, everyone else. You better get going home. I'll be able to tell if you are lying."

One by one everyone who was weeded out in the lottery began to leave, it was soon left two a couple dozen people. Yusuke checked his demon compass again, to see if Rando had been weeded out..for the third time today, luck was on his fight.

"Damn it, what are the odds that Me, Kuwabara, and the bad guy are all here?!" he asked, loudly. Kuwabara blinked a bit.

"Bad guy, what are you talking about?" he asked, curious and looking down at his shorter rival. Yusuke sighed and looked away.

"Nothing you'd understand without three hours of explanation." he said, "But his names Rando, and tell me if you get some sort of..'tickle feeling' around these guys that isn't your own homosexuality." Kuwabara started to get angry, but Genkai started speaking again.

"Okay, you all are the ones who aren't exactly maggots. But don't get cocky, you are simply the ones who actually have spirit energy. That is what turned the paper red." said Genkai, pointing down, "And most of you realize that."

Kuwabara blinked. "Spirit Energy..?" he muttered, softly so that Yusuke wouldn't hear it. He had no idea what that was, so he was honestly confused. Yusuke rolled his eyes..the concept was still a bit hard to grasp for him, but at least he didn't repeat it like a dumb monkey. Genkai opened a door.

"The next round is a place I've set up to test your different types of spirit energy, please do every activity you see at least once, and don't shove." she said, "Break anything, and you buy it." she added, thinking this was extremely expensive.

Yusuke took a few steps. It was a very brightly lit room, compared to the overcast skies outdoors so he had to wince at first before looking around..and boy was he surprised.

He was surrounded by video games.

"Welcome to the spirit arcade, but this is not day at the movies, you better do your best." said Genkai, suddenly standing above everyone on a large platform around the ceiling, that circled around with stairs that were based apparently in a different room. Yusuke was dead shocked..but quickly got over it and ran for the punch machine.

This was going to be a fucking ball.

Tamaki brought a small tray of breakfast at Seven Thirty AM sharp. She had called the school and told them that her and Kurama weren't coming..remembering to call him Shuichi of course. It was a very sneaky move, and she shouldn't have done it, but even if his regeneration powers had kicked in enough to heal the wound she wasn't making him go to school. He'd get him home in time, and his family would never know. At least she prayed not.

She was shocked, however, to see him their laying awake and his eyes wide open as though he had just seen a ghost. She stopped at his side and waiting for him to attempt to sit up before she put the tray down. If he couldn't, she'd move the end table. Kurama spotted her and smile weakly.

"Oh, sorry, I am a bit out of it. I had trouble sleeping." he said, slowly sitting up, but obviously still in pain. Tamaki sighed and let him stay there, putting the tray in front of him, "Eat up, your going to rest today."

Kurama blinked in confusion, "But what about school...?" he asked, a little to dreary to complain about it. Tamaki smiled.

"I called us it, it'll be fine. You don't need to press yourself." she said, looking around, "Go ahead and eat up." she added, wondering if she should do a bit of cleaning or if that would be rude. She could move the TV, currently in her room, into here or loan him a book...

Kurama looked at the food dimly as though he had forgotten for a moment how to eat. It was orange juice in a frosted glass cup, toast and eggs with a few slice of bacon to the side. He was almost surprised she hadn't made it smile, but she was probably too mature for that. Or just wanted him to think that, either way. He took a fork and began to eat at the eggs..which, quickly turned into demolishing them.

"You cook..very well.." he said, between sloppy bites, unable to contain his hunger. Tamaki sweat dropped but took it as a compliment.

"No problem, I am really glad you like my cooking." she said with a laugh, "I have to cook well, since I lived alone for a while. Do you mind if I clean a bit while you rest."

"You don't have to do that, I don't want to be a burden!" said Kurama, a bit shocked. Tamaki shook her head,

"Oh, no, just for cleanings sake, It's not a trouble at all." she said, the disorganization getting to her on massive degrees. Kurama paused a bit, not sure he wanted to let her do it, but nodded figuring she wasn't going to back down, and started murdering the bacon and toast.

The food slowly reminded him of the dream, as it refilled his capacity to think and made him realize he hadn't said a word to her about it..he shuddered, would it insult her? It might be better just to let it rest in the past. But, last time he did so, it caused a lot of misunderstandings.

Kurama sighed and took a deep drink of his Orange juice to clear his throat. He had to be honest, "Tamaki, I had a nightmare...do you dream project?"

"Dream Project..?" asked Tamaki, suddenly shocked, "Like, can I project thoughts or memories into dreams of others...? Well, I've heard of it before but I don't think I do." she asked, wondering if she subconsciously sent him something scary. She had thought about her parents are lot last night.

"Well...it seemed..you were in my nightmare, and I want to be honestly with you." he said, softly, looking at her with a gentle expression, "Your parents were killed by a demon, weren't they?...Are you in danger from it, still?" he asked, wanting to make sure she was safe. Tamaki looked down. She really would rather not talk about this, but it was for the best. She knew she could trust him.

"Yes...I very well might be..." said Tamaki, coming over and sitting at his feet, but smiling a gentle sad smile, "I have nothing to worry about though. I am stronger then I was back then..." she said, looking off and trying not to blush, "And I know you will help me, if I need it." Kurama winced with sympathy..he was glad she trusted him like that, but in this moment she looked so very sad.

"...I will be, please do not forget that in the least." he said, pausing for a moment to not mess the wording up by a syllable, "I want to pay you back for your kindness, and protecting you is the best way to do it." Tamaki looked at him.

"You really don't have to thank me for anything!" she said quickly, but backing up her train of thought, "But..still..thank you very much, for everything too." Kurama nodded.

"Now, as soon as I can move..we'll find the demon that did it, and abolish him." he said grimly, not going to put this off for a millisecond. Tamaki's eyes widened, and he noted her shock. But it was the only option.


End file.
